Your Pendant Carries Quite a Lot of Weight!

But Shizune's talent was indeed somewhat lacking, and her abilities were limited.

Now in her twenties, her medical skills were only slightly better than those of Chiya Kawasuke, the medical team Jonin Tsunade had known back then.

She couldn't perfectly carry on Tsunade's legacy.

"Ahem, that is indeed what this old woman meant, but there's something more important I need to tell you..."

As Chiya Nao spoke,

she glanced at Shizune beside her, hesitating as if she had reservations.

"Lady Tsunade, Granny Nao, take your time talking. I'll take Tonton out for a walk!"

Seeing this, Shizune understood.

She smiled and picked up the little pig, ready to leave.

"It's fine..." Tsunade waved a hand and said frankly, "Shizune is my disciple. She's always tight-lipped, so you don't need to worry!"

"Well... all right!"

Chiya Nao hesitated.

But since Tsunade had said so, she couldn't very well say anything more.

As if she had made up her mind,

she took a deep breath, looked Tsunade straight in the eye, and said, "Rikuto has awakened Lord Hashirama's Wood Release!"

"What!?"

Tsunade's eyes widened.

She could no longer remain seated and shot to her feet...

Chapter 15: Your Pendant Carries Quite a Lot of Weight!

"Wood... Wood Release?"

Tsunade wasn't the only one stunned.

Shizune, who had been listening quietly, was just as shocked.

Her mouth hung open, and she could barely close it.

Even the little pig in her arms fell straight to the floor.

Both of them stared wide-eyed at Chiya Nao in disbelief.

In all these years, not a single member of the Senju Clan besides Hashirama Senju had awakened the power of Wood Release.

Not even any of Hashirama Senju's direct descendants had managed to awaken the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

Even Tsunade herself, the First Hokage's granddaughter, was no exception.

To revive the power that had once brought peace to a world in chaos, Konoha had even conducted brutal human experiments.

Among the subjects were quite a few capable shinobi with Senju Clan blood, who had been made to undergo the experiments by the village leadership, including Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō.

They had gone so far as to transplant the First Hokage's cells in hopes of gaining the power of Wood Release.

But without exception, every one of them had died horribly, their entire bodies consumed by Hashirama Cells. Not one had ever succeeded in gaining the power of Wood Release.

Later, the leadership had been forced to abandon the experiments because the losses were too great and the experiments too inhumane.

"Is what you're saying true?"

Tsunade's face was solemn.

She looked straight at Chiya Nao.

"It's absolutely true... Ahem, Lady Tsunade, no matter how muddled this old woman gets, I could never tell a lie like that!" Chiya Nao said gravely.

"No wonder I found traces of a special chakra left in your body when I examined you just now, carrying an aura of incredible vitality..."

A lie like that would clearly be easy to expose.

Even if Nao wanted Tsunade to take her grandson as a disciple, there was no need to deceive her.

Tsunade, who knew something of Chiya Nao's character, had no further doubts and nodded in realization.

Besides, as she saw it, it was a miracle that Chiya Nao, whose body was so weak and whose life had long been all but spent, was still alive.

For a moment, the Sannin renowned as a master of medical ninjutsu couldn't help growing more interested in Chiya Nao's grandson, Chiya Rikuto.

"Unbelievable..."

Shizune was stunned and could hardly believe her ears.

She had left Konoha with Tsunade as a girl, traveled all over the Shinobi World with her, and learned directly from her.

Naturally, she understood exactly what Wood Release meant.

"Tap, tap..."

Just then,

footsteps sounded in the hallway outside the front door.

Having confirmed that they had guests,

Chiya Rikuto, who had already guessed their identities thanks to his powerful sensory abilities, deftly unlocked the door. "Grandma, I'm home!"

Tsunade and Shizune looked over instinctively.

As the door opened,

"What a beautiful boy!"

Looking at the child, whose face was youthful yet impossibly handsome, Shizune couldn't help staring.

Tsunade was also rather surprised as she sized up Chiya Rikuto.

This is Chiya Rikuto?

"Ahem, Rikuto, you're back..."

Chiya Nao hurriedly waved him over. "We have guests. Come here! Ahem..."

"Although you never mentioned it to me, Grandma, I've already guessed..."

He looked at the figure at the front, who wore a loose green coat and was beautiful, with a good figure.

Then there was the young woman with short hair, rather dowdy clothes, and a pink pig in her arms, who looked like an attendant.

"You must be Lady Tsunade, one of the Sannin?"

Before Chiya Nao could speak,

Chiya Rikuto looked at Tsunade and said politely with a smile, "I sensed that enormous chakra back at the Ninja Academy!"

"I think you're the only woman in Konoha who could have that kind of strength!"

As he spoke, his gaze instinctively swept over the crystal pendant hanging around her neck, which looked quite exquisite...

It was heavy, with plenty of weight to it.

As expected of the necklace said to be worth enough to buy several mountains outright!

It was said to be a crystallization of the First Hokage's Wood Release chakra, and he could indeed sense a vast fluctuation of chakra from it.

And it felt very familiar.

"Oh? You've got such outstanding sensory abilities too, kid?"

Tsunade was amazed.

Wasn't this child a little too exceptional?

He could analyze her chakra and confirm her identity from it alone. That kind of thinking was just like her second grandfather's.

And he was only eight years old.

But noticing where the little fellow was looking,

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and asked with a smile, "But have you seen enough?"

"Ahem, the pendant around your neck is very distinctive. It should contain a rather astonishing amount of chakra..." Rikuto withdrew his gaze and nodded seriously.

"..." Tsunade was speechless.

Were you really looking at the pendant?

That furtive gaze hadn't escaped her notice...

Hmph, what a little pervert!

"That's amazing..."

Hearing this,

Shizune hadn't expected Chiya Rikuto to notice at once how extraordinary the First Hokage's Necklace was, which Lady Tsunade always wore close to her body, and couldn't help exclaiming in admiration.

"Lady Tsunade's necklace is said to be a crystal of Lord Hashirama's chakra. I've heard it could be sold for enough money to buy several mountains outright!"

She paused.

Looking at the boy before her, who was like a little adult and far too composed for an eight-year-old,

she couldn't help asking, "Little boy, Granny Nao just told us everything. Have you really awakened the Wood Release that only Lord Hashirama mastered?"

"Ahem, Rikuto, this is Lady Tsunade's disciple!"

Knowing her grandson was unusually mature for his age,

Chiya Nao coughed a few times and patted Rikuto on the shoulder. "Ahem, don't be afraid. You can trust them!"

She knew her own condition well.

Even with Rikuto tending to her these past few days, nothing had helped.

She was already beyond the reach of medicine.

She simply couldn't stop worrying about her precious grandson, who had lost his parents when he was young and had depended on her ever since.

Nor did she want his extraordinary talent to go to waste.

"I see..."

Chiya Rikuto nodded.

Looking at his grandmother, whose health was worsening by the day and who didn't have much time left, he sighed inwardly.

He had more or less guessed that Tsunade, who had been away from the village for years, had suddenly returned to Konoha because Chiya Nao had asked someone to find her.

The old woman's strength was exhausted, and she wouldn't last more than a few days.

He knew that perfectly well.

But he truly hadn't expected

his grandmother to be doing everything she could to find someone he could rely on before she closed her eyes for good.

But to be honest,

if he continued staying in Konoha,

it wouldn't mean much to him.

And there were too many constraints.

Leaving everything else aside, even his daily training was full of restrictions.

If he hadn't been worried about leaving Chiya Nao behind, he might well have left long ago.

He didn't care whether that made him a missing-nin or not.

If he could travel the Shinobi World with Tsunade,

that would indeed be a good choice.

"Is that so?"

Having made his decision,

Rikuto didn't hesitate.

He simply didn't want to let the old woman down.