Pre-Chapter AN: This chapter is the aftermath of the reveal and thus mostly consists of character intersections. This needs to be out of the way, so I can focus on combat. It's longer than usual, about 6500 words.
Chapter 25
I left the Hokage Tower and headed straight for Training Ground Three. The sun was dipping lower in the sky, casting long shadows over the village streets. I took the rooftops, my boots tapping lightly against the clay tiles.
When I arrived at the clearing, Anko and Asuma were in the middle of a spar. They were moving fast, exchanging blows with a rhythm that showed how much they had grown over the last few months. Orochimaru stood a short distance away, watching them with his arms crossed.
I dropped down from the trees and landed softly beside him.
Orochimaru glanced at me, his golden eyes sweeping over my dusty uniform. "How did the mission go, Yuuki-kun?"
I grimaced, letting out a heavy breath. "Well, all I can say is that you will shortly get summoned. I recommend just going there. The secret is out."
His eyes widened for a fraction of a second. The calm facade cracked. "Damn it," he cursed softly.
He closed his eyes, taking a single, measured breath. When he opened them again, the composure had returned, though his jaw remained tight. "There is nothing to be done then. You are at a sufficient strength that you will be able to defend yourself. I shall go consult with sensei."
He turned to leave, but I reached out and caught his sleeve.
"I'm going to tell them before it gets out in public," I said, looking toward Anko and Asuma. "I would like you to stay."
I wanted him there just in case the reaction turned overwhelmingly negative. Orochimaru looked at me, understanding the silent request, and gave a slow nod.
"Anko. Asuma," Orochimaru called out. "Gather."
They broke apart immediately, both of them breathing hard and slick with sweat. They jogged over to us, wiping their faces.
"Hey, Kagurazaka," Anko greeted casually, bumping her shoulder against my arm. "How was playing babysitter for the rookies?"
"Yeah," Asuma added, catching his breath. "Did the mission go well?"
I looked at them. They were relaxed, comfortable. This was the part I had been dreading.
When I first woke up in this world, I never expected to form actual bonds with anyone. I was an adult trapped in a child's body, surrounded by child soldiers in a death game. I thought I would just train, survive, and keep my head down. But the reality was different. I had fought beside them, bled with them, and shared meals with them. I considered them my friends and my teammates.
That made this terrifying. I was nervous to tell them the truth, worried that the deception would ruin the trust we had built. But I forced my shoulders to relax and firmed my resolve. I was not a kid. I needed to handle this directly.
"What I am about to tell you is related to the mission," I said.
My voice came out more serious than I intended. They both noticed. The casual ease vanished from their postures, and they straightened up, giving me their full attention.
"On the day we met sensei, I unlocked something else," I began, keeping my gaze steady. "The Hokage placed me under a strict gag order immediately. I was not allowed to tell anyone, not even you two."
I held out my right hand, palm facing up. I focused on my chakra and pushed it outward. The skin on my palm shifted, and a small, solid block of brown wood grew smoothly from the center of my hand.
I let it sit there for a moment, making sure they saw it clearly.
The clearing went completely silent. Anko stared at the wood, her mouth slightly open. Asuma blinked, his eyes darting from my hand to my face and back again.
I waited for the anger. I waited for the accusations.
Asuma let out a long, slow breath. "Well," he said, shaking his head. "That explains a lot."
I blinked, surprised by the lack of hostility in his voice. There was no jealousy, no bruised ego. He just looked like a puzzle had finally clicked into place.
Anko looked slightly conflicted. She frowned, her eyes dropping to the ground. "I gue—"
Asuma elbowed her sharply in the ribs before she could finish the thought.
"We knew something was up," Asuma said, giving me a pointed look. "I mean, we are not blind, you know? You taking sensei aside to talk privately, or him occasionally disappearing with you after training. Just the sheer amount of time you spent away from us over the starting few months was enough to make us think something was going on."
I stared at him. I had honestly thought I was being discreet. I guess my skills in subterfuge still needed some serious work.
Anko rubbed her side where Asuma had hit her, but the conflicted look faded. A small, familiar smile spread across her face.
"It doesn't really matter," she said, looking me right in the eye. "Senju or not, I'm still gonna kick your ass, Kagurazaka."
"She is right," Asuma agreed, a matching smirk appearing on his face. "You just have a few more tricks now."
I felt a massive weight lift off my chest. The relief washed over me, warm and absolute. I really had been worried over nothing. I smiled back at them, letting the wooden block recede into my skin.
Before anyone could say anything else, a swirl of leaves appeared at the edge of the clearing. An ANBU operative wearing a bear mask stepped forward.
"Orochimaru-sama," the ANBU said, his voice flat. "The Hokage requests your presence immediately."
"Right on schedule," Orochimaru murmured. He gave us a brief nod. "Keep up your training. I will return later." He vanished in a flicker of movement alongside the ANBU.
"Well," Anko said, clapping her hands together. "Since you are a fancy Chunin with a legendary bloodline now, we are getting food. And you are paying."
I shook my head, unable to wipe the smile off my face. "Yeah, alright. I'm paying."
Later that night, after I had returned to my apartment and locked the door, the familiar blue screen shimmered into existence.
[Achievement Unlocked: Defeat and Kill A-Ranked Shinobi - Gari (Future Edo-Shinobi)][Rank: MID]
I sat down on my futon and mentally prompted the roll. The screen flickered before settling on my reward.
[On Foot] [Street Fighter] (Refinement)Motion sick? Don't have enough cash for a car and gas? Maybe you just like taking the scenic route. Whatever the case may be, you've made a habit of walking everywhere, even on long trips around the world. How do you cross the sea? How should I know. This perk greatly aids with quick, efficient, long distance travel on foot. You gain a hefty increase to your stamina, and good fortune with getting where you wanna go such that detours or rough terrain are rarely an issue. Need to get to the other side of the world and prefer walking? You'll get there eventually, somehow, and it'll take less time than you'd think.
Well, this was definitely something. Traveling faster and bypassing rough terrain was a boon for a shinobi, even if it felt a bit underwhelming compared to my other Mid-rank achievements.
The real prize here was the hefty increase to my stamina. In this world, physical stamina directly correlated to physical energy, or the Yang half of chakra. As the perk settled into my system, I felt my baseline endurance spike, bringing a very welcome and noticeable expansion to my total chakra reserves. It was just a pity the probability-bending fortune effect only applied during travel.
Speaking of chakra and techniques in general, my mind wandered back to the fight with Gari.
I had been forced to rely on speed, wood walls, and sharp roots to keep him at bay. But there was an option I hadn't even thought to use, one that could have made the entire encounter significantly easier: the Flower Field technique I inherited from Hanami's abilities.
I had completely ignored it. I had been so intensely focused on the physical combat side of my Nature Release, mastering the wood constructs and the chakra drain, that I had neglected the psychological aspect of the perk. A field of flowers that actively pacified opponents and drained their will to fight would have stopped Gari's explosive charges dead in their tracks.
I couldn't exactly use it straight away in the field, of course. It would require deliberate practice to manifest correctly without catching my allies in the area of effect. But after experiencing the Iwa-nin's Genjutsu firsthand, I fully understood just how effective sensory and psychological attacks could be. I nearly died because I ignored illusions. Having a massive pacification field in my arsenal was too valuable to leave untested which was something I should have realised before, though in my defense, I’d been working on the farm and right after that I had gotten the mission.
I needed to work a lot harder. Given the recent reveal of my abilities to the enemy and the mounting target on my back, asking for a short break from active missions to train a new, highly effective defensive technique definitely wouldn't be denied, and I needed to be even more varied in general.
It had been a few days since the encounter at the border forced me to reveal my Nature Release. Our usual team meetings and missions were called off. I spent the days training in isolation, pushing my limits and trying to ignore the looming consequences of my secret getting out.
Now, I was standing in the Hokage’s office. Orochimaru and Tsunade were present as well, flanking Hiruzen's desk.
Well, that was entirely expected. I let out a long sigh as I looked down at the latest, freshly printed edition of the Bingo Book resting on the wooden surface.
Name: Yuuki Kagurazaka (Senju)Rank: High-A / S-Rank (Suspected)Bounty: S-Rank (45,000,000 ryo)Threat Level: Engagement by multiple Jonin squads only advised. Extreme caution required.Affiliation: Konohagakure. Student of the Sannin, Orochimaru (See pg. 16).Description: Possesses the fabled Wood Release of the First Hokage. Capable of creating thick, highly durable wooden constructs. Exhibits immense physical strength and speed.Recent Feats: Defeated and killed Gari of the Explosion Corps (Iwa, see pg. 49).
"This is going to place one hell of a target on your back, kid," Tsunade said, letting out a low whistle.
I sighed again, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "On the bright side, I don't have to hold back anything anymore."
"You still need to hold back on your transformation," the Hokage pointed out, his tone serious. "That state is still highly unstable, is it not?"
"It is," I admitted. "But without practical use, I can't really increase my control over it. If I am sent on any solo missions or isolated objectives, it should be fine to use. I just can't risk it with allies nearby, just to be safe."
"I think we are leaving something out," Tsunade intervened, crossing her arms and shifting her weight.
We all turned our attention to her.
"When will you move into the Senju Compound?" she asked bluntly.
That made me freeze. I didn't know how to feel about that. The System had given me the [Living Disaster] perk, adapting it to this world as a mutated Wood Release. But did that actually make me a Senju by blood? I had no idea. Was I just stealing a place in a nearly dead clan, riding the coattails of a legacy that wasn't biologically mine? The imposter syndrome hit me hard, making my chest feel tight. I felt incredibly nervous about claiming a home that didn't belong to me.
"What?" Tsunade snorted derisively, catching my hesitation. "Scared?"
I didn't say anything. I just stared at the floorboards.
She let out a small, mocking chuckle. "You actually are. That's adorable. Do you want me to hold your hand while you pack your bags?" Her voice dripped with a teasing edge, and I felt the tips of my ears heat up.
Fucker.
"You two can discuss real estate later on your own," the Hokage interjected, steering the room back to the pressing issues.
"A statement needs to be made," Orochimaru said. He had been mostly contemplative, standing quietly by the window, but his voice commanded immediate attention.
Tsunade and Hiruzen both nodded, their expressions darkening with agreement. Orochimaru turned to me to explain.
"As of right now, every wannabe bounty hunter squad, missing-nin, and rogue ronin will throw themselves at you to claim those forty-five million ryo," he said, his golden eyes locked on mine. "The reason that Tsunade, Jiraiya, myself, and Minato are not constantly approached by these opportunists is because they know engaging us means certain death. You need to establish that same fear. You have to prove yourself. Words on a page do not defeat the word-of-mouth."
I felt the immense weight of those words settle over me. Establish fear. Prove myself to the entire continent. I swallowed hard. "So, what do I do?"
I felt completely out of my league. Another life in a peaceful, modern world had not prepared me for the geopolitical realities of becoming a walking weapon of mass destruction and the largest target around for nations to kill.
Orochimaru stepped forward and placed a pale hand firmly on my shoulder. The gesture was surprisingly grounding. "It will be fine," he said, his voice dropping to a reassuring murmur.
I felt my racing heart calm slightly. I took a deep breath and exhaled it. "Yeah... Okay."
"The best solution," Hiruzen said, bringing the strategy back into focus, "would be to send you to the front lines for a brief period, or assign you to destroy a vital enemy target where heavy combat is guaranteed."
That is dangerous, I thought. Really dangerous. So far, I had operated with the shield of Orochimaru hovering over me as a last line of defense. The only solo-mission I had taught me just how woefully unequipped I was to face seasoned veterans without backup.
"That would be too dangerous for him right now, sensei," Tsunade argued, stepping forward.
"We cannot keep him constantly in the village either," Hiruzen countered gently but firmly. "You and I both know how low the enemy villages will stoop. Assassinations, poisonings, collateral attacks. If he remains out of their reach behind our walls, it will only make them more cornered and desperate. They will strike at the village itself in increasingly desperate maneuverers to get to him."
"If I can just have some time to train," I spoke up, interrupting the brewing argument. "I have been working on some half-formed techniques that can give me a real advantage in large-scale combat."
Tsunade opened her mouth, but Hiruzen raised a hand to stop her. "Do you have anything you could show for it?" he asked.
"I have been experimenting with wide-area Genjutsu tied to my Nature Release, as well as some Wind-based techniques to expand my range," I explained.
"Genjutsu? From a physical release?" Hiruzen leaned forward, clearly intrigued. "Is it in a demonstrable state?"
I could do a pretty weak version of it. To be honest, the jutsu in its current state was more of a gimmick. It might work once at the peak of a chaotic fight, but even that wasn't certain. The technique, inherited from Hanami, was meant to create a field of beautiful flowers that calmed the surroundings, actively sapping away the enemy's intent to fight. In a high-intensity battle, the chances of it holding a dedicated shinobi for long were low based on my current mastery.
Still, having something to show was better than nothing.
I raised my hands, bringing them together in a single, sustained seal. I focused on the chakra flowing in my coils and pushed it outward, just like I'd inherited it.
"Nature Release: Flower Field of Peace." I intoned.
Soft, glowing petals began to drift down from the ceiling, accompanied by the sudden growth of vibrant flowers of different colors blooming across the Hokage's desk, the floorboards, and the windowsills. A sweet, incredibly heavy scent filled the room.
For a split second, the tension in the office completely vanished. Hiruzen's shoulders dropped. Tsunade's aggressive posture softened, her arms uncrossing. Even Orochimaru's ever-present vigilance seemed to melt into a blank, serene calm.
Then, exactly as I expected of three Kage-level veterans, their instincts kicked in. They snapped out of it almost simultaneously, flaring their chakra to dispel the lingering effects. The flowers withered and vanished into motes of light from the pressure of their combined chakra as I didn't bother to sustain it.
"That is..." Orochimaru blinked, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "That could work incredibly well for a split-second edge, or to initiate an ambush."
"It bypasses the standard visual and auditory triggers by anchoring the illusion to physical spores and scent," Tsunade analyzed, her medical mind already dissecting the jutsu. "It forces a physiological relaxation response alongside the mental one."
Hiruzen picked up his pipe, looking at me with renewed consideration. "A week or a week and a half. That is the longest we can delay your deployment without inviting an incident within the village walls."
A week and a half. It wasn't a lot of time, but it would have to be enough. I nodded, my mind already running through my perks and abilities, calculating how to squeeze every drop of potential out of the next ten days.
"For now, you are all dismissed," the Hokage said, picking up his pen to signal the end of the meeting.
I turned and got ready to bolt. I made it just outside the office doors before a firm voice stopped me in my tracks.
"You, brat. Stay."
I stopped, my shoulders slumping in defeat. I turned around to see Tsunade walking out of the office behind me.
"I know where you live as well, so don't try running," she added. "Lunch is on me."
I hesitated, glancing toward the bustling corridors of the tower. "I don't want people coming up to ask questions." It was a very real concern, and partially the reason I had locked myself inside my apartment for the past few days. I was exhausted just thinking about the stares.
"No one will have the balls to come up if I am with you," she said, rolling her eyes at my reluctance. "Come on. I will show you somewhere you won't be bothered."
We still took the rooftops as we traveled, avoiding the crowded civilian streets below. We leaped across the village for a few minutes before dropping down into a cornered-off, shadowed alleyway. I looked at the weathered wooden sign hanging above a heavy oak door. The Rusty Kunai.
"You are taking me to a pub," I said, raising an eyebrow at her.
I was a shinobi, sure. But this was not a world where the general consensus followed the 'old enough to kill, old enough to do everything else' rule from the stories I used to read. I was still physically ten years old, and bartenders usually frowned upon serving kids.
"It is a place for mostly Jonin and some Chunin to relax," she explained, pushing the heavy door open. "A spot to stay away from their issues when they do not want to talk. An injured, retired Jonin runs it. Do not bring people here on your own, but the people inside will not bother you."
I followed her inside. The lighting was dim, and the air smelled comfortably of roasted meat, warm broth, and sake. Groups of Chunin and Jonin were huddled around wooden tables, drinking and talking quietly. Some looked somber, some looked happy, and many just looked profoundly tired.
A few raised their glasses and called out respectful greetings to Tsunade. A couple of them even directed brief nods at me, clearly recognizing my face from the newly printed Bingo Book pages while those who weren’t aware were filled in. But just as Tsunade had promised, no one got up from their seats to come over.
Tsunade was not one to mince her words or walk around the edges of a topic. The moment the bartender walked away with our food and drink orders, she leaned forward across the wooden table.
"Why aren't you coming with me to the Compound and taking the Senju name?" she asked.
Her voice was kept low. The tables in the pub were spaced far enough apart that no normal person would overhear our conversation. Of course, my enhanced hearing picked up the quiet murmurs from the surrounding booths anyway. I could hear a few tired shinobi getting filled in by their comrades on exactly who the kid sitting with the Slug Princess was. I just tuned the whispers out. Ignoring them was becoming second nature by now.
I didn't freeze or act surprised. I knew she had invited me out here for this exact reason. I just let out a heavy sigh and met her gaze.
"Why are you so sure I am related to the Senju?" I shot back, keeping my own volume down. "For all you know, it could just be a freak chakra mutation that the First Hokage and I happen to share."
"The blood reports came back positive," she stated flatly.
My mouth clicked shut. I stared at her, completely derailed.
"When?" I stressed the word. I had no idea when she would have gotten a sample of my blood.
"When you were recovering after the Fox incident," she retorted, taking a casual sip from the small cup of sake the bartender had left her. "You were unconscious, bleeding, and your chakra coils were burning out. I am a medic. I ran a full panel to ensure your cellular structure was not breaking down from the strain."
My mind went entirely blank. I leaned back against the wooden chair. The System had actually altered my DNA. It made sense logically. The System had adapted Hanami's power to fit the rules of this reality, and the fundamental rule of Wood Release in the Elemental Nations was Senju genetics - or well Hashirama Cells in particular which I was certain I didn't have. For all I knew, it could have actually been here before the System. Still, this meant I was not just an imposter stealing a legacy. I was biologically tied to it.
"You are not closely related to me," Tsunade continued, setting her cup down on the table. "But you are part Senju. Even if the connection is distant, the genetic markers are undeniably there."
I processed the information slowly. Waking up in this world as a nameless orphan, I had accepted that I was alone. Now, I suddenly had a traceable ancestry.
"Just this morning, I had the few remaining clan elders pestering me to bring you to the compound," she said. She looked at me, her brown eyes intense and unyielding. "They want to meet you. They are all excited to know you from the elders to the few younger children who are still left around."
She leaned a fraction closer, dropping the abrasive attitude for a brief, serious moment. "You are family, Yuuki."
Her tone was firm, demanding no arguments, but I could hear the underlying worry and genuine care threaded through her words. She was offering me a home and a place to belong in a village that was increasingly looking at me as a weapon. I swallowed hard. The tight, anxious feeling in my chest finally loosened.
"I guess I have no choice," I said lightly, a small smile breaking through my guard.
"Damn right you don't," she grinned, looking fiercely satisfied as our food arrived at the table.
The Senju Compound was located right at the base of the Hokage Monument, nestled securely against the towering cliff face. Walking through the massive wooden torii gates felt like stepping into another era. The area was vast, enclosed by towering trees that cast long, cooling shadows over the grounds. Inside, multiple traditional estates with sweeping tiled roofs and expansive engawa porches dotted the landscape.
But for all its size and grandeur, the place felt incredibly empty.
There were no sounds of children playing in the courtyards, no shinobi sparring on the training grounds, no bustling activity you would expect from the founding clan of the village. It was quiet, carrying the heavy, hallowed silence of a memorial.
"Tsunade-hime, you're here."
A voice called out from the veranda of the nearest house. An elderly man with thinning gray hair and a pronounced limp made his way toward us, leaning heavily on a wooden cane. His eyes, however, were sharp, and they locked onto me the moment he got close.
"And this must be..." he trailed off, his gaze searching my face.
"Yuuki Kagurazaka, sir," I said, offering a polite bow.
"I am Kenjiro," the old man replied, his voice trembling slightly.
"He is one of the clan elders," Tsunade explained, though her tone was surprisingly gentle.
Kenjiro gripped his cane tighter, his knuckles turning white. He looked at me, a desperate kind of hope swimming in his eyes. "Would you... is it true? Could I see it?"
Tsunade immediately glared at him. "He isn't a circus act, Kenjiro. We just got here."
I held up a hand, cutting off whatever apology the elder was about to formulate. I didn't mind. If I were in his shoes, watching my clan fade into obscurity, I would want to see the proof too.
"It is fine," I said softly. "Please, step back a little."
Kenjiro obliged, his eyes wide. I knelt and pressed my palm against the grass. I didn't need to pull from my reserves heavily, just enough to coax life from the soil. I focused my chakra, guiding it downward.
A sprout broke through the earth, rapidly thickening into a sturdy trunk. Bark formed, rough and dark, as branches shot outward and unfurled a canopy of vibrant green leaves. Within seconds, a fully grown, healthy oak tree stood in the courtyard, a few small white flowers blooming among the foliage.
Kenjiro dropped his cane. He stepped forward and placed a trembling hand against the rough bark of the tree. He rested his forehead against the wood, a quiet, watery smile breaking across his weathered face.
"Thank you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
I stood up and awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck. "You're welcome."
Tsunade let him have his moment, but her patience had limits. "If you are quite done being rude, maybe the boy can actually go inside and sit down?" she sniped.
Kenjiro chuckled, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his robe. "Of course, of course. My apologies, Yuuki-kun. Welcome home."
We left him by the tree and walked deeper into the compound toward the main estate. Along the way, I finally spotted a few other people. Three women, probably in their late thirties or forties, were tending to a small garden. They paused to wave at Tsunade, their eyes inevitably darting to me with undisguised curiosity. I offered a small wave back.
"How many Senju by blood are actually left?" I asked, keeping my voice low. The Hokage had told me they were hunted in every war because of their inherent vitality and their reputation as the Clan of a Thousand Skills. But seeing the emptiness of this massive compound put that reality into a stark, depressing perspective.
"Including you, me, and my brother?" Tsunade asked grimly. "Seven."
A heavy weight dropped into my stomach. "Seven. What about the elder we just met? Or those women?"
"Kenjiro married into the clan decades ago," she explained, shaking her head. "The women are widows of our clansmen, or retainers who took the name. Of the actual bloodline, the ones carrying the chakra and the vitality... there are only seven. The four others are just kids. Three are younger than you, and one is just slightly older."
I exhaled slowly. That was abysmally low. The Senju were practically extinct. In the original story, I couldn't recall a single mention of what happened to them, aside from Tsunade. If things stayed on their current course, they would simply fade away entirely.
"How did it get this bad?" I asked. "How are the others holding up?"
"Not well," Tsunade said, her voice turning bitter. "Their parents died in the war, so the kids seek revenge. They rush through the Academy, desperate to get to the front lines before they are ready. And before that, when a child died in combat, the parents would throw themselves into suicidal missions out of grief. It is a vicious, endless cycle. That is how the clan has fallen. They refuse to step back and survive because family matters above all else."
She looked straight ahead, her jaw clenched. "I try the best I can to help them, to hold them back, but it is never enough. Grief makes people deaf to reason."
We stepped through the sliding shoji doors of the main house. The interior smelled of clean tatami mats and faint, burning incense. It was spacious and impeccably maintained, yet the silence was almost deafening.
We sat down at a low wooden table in the main living area. Tsunade poured two cups of tea from a pot resting on a small heating seal.
"Drink," she said, sliding a cup toward me. "Nawaki should be here soon."
Right. Nawaki was still kicking around. I took a slow sip from the warm ceramic cup. "Tell me a bit about him," I asked.
Tsunade stared into her tea, not bothering to hide the worry lines forming around her eyes. "He is going to graduate from the Academy in a few days," she said quietly. "He wants to be the Hokage. He cares deeply for the Senju that are left. Took their burden as his even if he doesn't show it."
I knew exactly who Nawaki was, along with the grim fate attached to his name. He was supposed to die from a stray explosive tag, an event that would ultimately shatter Tsunade's faith in the village and the title of Hokage. But from what I recalled of the original story, his Jonin sensei had been Orochimaru. Since Orochimaru was busy leading my team now, that specific future was already fractured. Could that mean my existence had butterflied his death away?
I genuinely hoped so. The Senju clan had suffered enough, and Tsunade didn't deserve to be broken like that. I wanted to find a way to end this war early. I took a deep breath and exhaled the tension from my chest. The mutated medicinal plants were still being stockpiled, but they would soon be handed off to the front lines. Maybe that massive logistical advantage would be enough to shift the tides and keep kids like Nawaki out of the meat grinder. There wasn't much else I could do from here.
The sudden, violent clatter of the front door sliding open broke the quiet atmosphere.
"I'm home!" a boisterous, high-energy voice called out from the entryway.
Tsunade rolled her eyes, her worried expression instantly replaced by older-sister exasperation. "We have a guest here, brat. Come inside."
"Who?" the voice asked. Quick footsteps hurried down the wooden hallway.
A boy appeared in the doorway and immediately froze. He had short, messy light-brown hair and wide hazel eyes. There was a distinct, youthful blush on his cheeks that made him look entirely too innocent for a village at war. He wore a dark teal poncho-style top over light green pants, looking every bit the eager Academy student.
His eyes locked onto me, growing practically to the size of dinner plates.
"You're the guy everyone is talking about!" he yelled, his face lighting up. "You really have it!?"
I leaned back instinctively as he vaulted right over the low wooden table between us, completely ignoring basic manners and personal space.
"Wait, is that why we have a new tree near the entrance?" he rapid-fired, leaning in close. "How do you do it? Can I do it? Are you gonna live with—"
His interrogation was cut abruptly short. Tsunade’s fist came down hard on the top of his head.
"Ow!"
"Breathe," Tsunade ordered, her expression equal parts annoyed and fond. "And introduce yourself first."
I let out a quiet exhale, taking a moment to gather my thoughts while Nawaki rubbed his bruised scalp. He stepped back, offering a slightly clumsy but genuine bow of apology.
"Sorry about that," he said, offering a bright, unabashed grin. "I'm Nawaki Senju. It is really nice to meet you!"
I reached out and shook his hand. His grip was firm and full of nervous energy.
"Yuuki Kagurazaka," I replied. "Nice to meet you too."
Lunch was a chaotic affair, mostly thanks to Nawaki. He ate like a starving wolf, talking around mouthfuls of rice as he boasted about his latest Academy scores. He confidently claimed he was the strongest in his graduating class, performing a few mock punches in the air to prove his point.
Tsunade simply snorted into her tea, murmuring something about him tripping over his own feet during sparring yesterday.
Nawaki ignored her completely. He puffed out his chest and jabbed a thumb at himself. "Just you wait. I am going to become the next Hokage. I'll make the Senju name great again."
I looked at the bright, untainted determination in his eyes. It was a sharp contrast to the weary soldiers I had seen at the border camp, or the somber women outside. "Work hard," I told him, offering a genuine smile. "It will take time, but you will get there."
After we finished eating, Tsunade took me on a short tour of the compound to meet the rest of the residents. It was a brief, bittersweet experience. The four remaining Senju children were young, still a year or two away from Academy graduation. They were shy at first, hiding behind their mothers' legs, but they quickly warmed up when I grew a few small, intricately carved wooden animals for them from my palms.
The women raising them were polite and welcoming. They thanked me for visiting and offered warm smiles, but the grief in their eyes was impossible to miss. They were widows, left alone in an oversized, empty estate to raise the very last sparks of a dying legacy. The weight of their quiet resilience settled heavily in my chest as we finished the introductions and headed back to the main house.
Once we were back inside the living room, Tsunade waved Nawaki off. She told him to go practice his shuriken throwing in the courtyard, swatting away his complaints until he finally trudged outside.
"Wait here," she said, her tone shifting to something much more serious.
She left the room, disappearing down the hall for a few minutes. When she returned, she was carrying a polished wooden box secured with a heavy iron latch. She placed it on the table between us and slid it forward.
"Open it," she instructed.
I undid the latch and lifted the lid. Inside, resting on a bed of velvet, were three slightly weathered sealing scrolls. Bold kanji painted across the pristine parchment of each scroll read Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.
"These hold some of the jutsu left behind by the First," Tsunade said quietly.
My breath caught in my throat. I stared at the three scrolls, my mind struggling to process what was sitting in front of me. This was the personal arsenal of the God of Shinobi.
"They were locked away in a highly specialized vault beneath the compound," Tsunade explained, leaning back in her chair. "My blood wasn't enough to trigger the release mechanism, and the sample I took from you didn't work either. The array was too complex. We had to bring in Minato and Kushina to manually dismantle it over the last month."
She crossed her arms, looking at the box. "Get Kushina something nice when you have the chance. She put in a lot of hard work trying to break the seal without triggering any traps or damaging the contents."
"I will," I promised, still staring at the scrolls.
"Treat these with care," Tsunade ordered. Her voice was gruff but layered with genuine affection. "Learn them, and stay safe, brat."
I did not know what else to say. I was holding the absolute pinnacle of Konoha's history in my hands. I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat feeling like a stone.
My thoughts drifted to the courtyard outside. I thought of Nawaki and his innocent dream of wearing the Hokage hat. I thought of the tired, grieving spouses trying to protect their children in a compound that felt like a tomb. I thought of Anko, Asuma, Hayate, Yugao, and Kurenai. All of them were caught in a war that threatened to chew them up and spit them out.
I needed to be stronger. I needed to be an absolute force of nature if I wanted to protect them and end this war before it claimed any more of the people I cared about. The System had given me the foundation, but these scrolls held the blueprint to mastering it.
I closed the lid of the box, gripping the wood firmly.
"I will," I whispered.
AN: First of all, it's past 12 and it is the 9th of March in my country and thus my birthday. I've gone over this chapter at 2:54 AM as I'm typing this, so I apologise for any mistakes but I did promise to release a chapter, and thus here I am.
Well, Yuuki now has access to all of Hashirama's techniques, learning them will take time, and not to mention the chakra cost for say something like Buddha Jutsu (I forgot the name of it) or the massive fuck-off Gates he drops. But, it'll be a good increase to his arsenal.
By the way, he'll gain two achievements: [S-Rank] — Mid (because it wasn't over a raw feat, rather what he has. Another relating to joining The Senju Clan, though I'm unsure what to rank it. The Senju Clan as of now is practically dead.
I think it is fair for Yuuki to feel like an imposter. The System did give him Senju lineage. By the way, The Rusty Kunai was something I read in some other fic, though I do not remember its name anymore. I like the idea of Shinobi hangout spots.
45 Million Ryō is about 10 Million Ryō more than what Asuma canonically had.
Next chapter will be Yuuki making a statement, I won't be covering the training this time around, since combat is to follow it. If you've got any suggestions of what I could, please comment - and like the chapter while you're at it. Your ideas will greatly help, even if I don't adapt them 1:1.
Thank you so much for being here and sticking with me, I'll see you all either next week or the week after that, I'm uncertain if I'll be able to update. In case I'm unable to, apologies in advance.