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"Still, the main focus of the announcement should be on Wood Release and the Mangekyō Sharingan. And make sure it targets Iwagakure. Got it?"
"Iwagakure?"
The Cloud shinobi froze for a second when he heard that, but he quickly understood since he operated directly under the Fourth Raikage.
"Understood, Lord Raikage. I'll ensure everyone in Iwagakure hears about the new prodigy in Konoha."
"Hmph. I was humiliated this time, but someone will eventually make a move."
The Fourth Raikage nodded. Letting Iwagakure and Konoha tear into each other didn't bother him.
He couldn't act openly anymore—at best. He could go back to how things were after the Hyūga Incident, stirring up trouble for Konoha through missions.
But that wasn't enough. If Ōnoki got involved, it would be far more entertaining, and no matter what happened, the Raikage wouldn't lose out.
He still remembered vividly how Ōnoki had led over ten thousand Iwa shinobi to wear his father down and kill him in battle.
"Also, I heard this place used to be Shimura Danzō's base, right?" Suddenly, the Fourth Raikage remembered something and lowered his voice.
His subordinate gave a small nod, speaking in a hushed tone. "Yes, Lord Raikage. When the Third Hokage and Tsunade talked earlier, Danzō secretly observed them."
"From lip reading, we're fairly sure of it. And that kid, Shuuzawa, seems to be one of Danzō's subordinates."
Shimura Danzō. The Fourth Raikage had no fondness for that man. In his eyes, that so-called "Darkness of the Shinobi World" was just a group of scheming insects hiding in the shadows.
Their actions were never honorable—just underhanded trickery. "No wonder that brat was so dirty in battle…Turns out he's Danzō's man!"
The Fourth Raikage let out a cold snort. The humiliation he'd suffered this time—he swore he would repay it in the future.
"Shimura Danzō… I won't forget this." Shuuzawa, of course, had no idea his former boss had just been randomly dragged into this.
He hadn't pulled any stunts against the Fourth Raikage this time—besides giving Danzō some credit when talking to Tsunade.
After all, the Raikage was meeting with Hiruzen, and Danzō might have shown up too. Things could get messy if Shuuzawa ran his mouth and got ratted out.
And sure enough, Danzō had shown up. So, Shuuzawa playing it safe turned out to be the smart move.
If he would have some fun at his superior's expense, he'd do it in a way that left no room for complaints.
Still, he probably didn't expect Danzō to keep getting blamed for things he didn't even do. But he didn't have the time to worry about that now—he was exhausted.
"All done cleaning up?" Tsunade walked in from outside. Even back in Konoha, she still wore that green jacket with the "Gamble" kanji on the back.
Her white blouse clung tightly to her chest, and although her annoying pants hid her legs, the red nail polish on her toes caught Shuuzawa's eye momentarily.
"…Yeah." Shuuzawa quickly looked away and nodded. "It's all cleaned up, Lady Tsunade."
There was no denying it—Tsunade was great at persuading people to do work, and her status was unquestionably high.
After Hiruzen's death, Jiraiya and Tsunade were the first two names brought up as the next Hokage.
Shuuzawa sometimes couldn't help but wonder if they were chosen because they didn't like dealing with paperwork…
But no matter what, under Tsunade's leadership—even if she acted lazy and did the bare minimum when reviewing documents—Konoha had turned out just fine.
At the very least, the Konoha 12 had grown and thrived under her reign. "As long as it's cleaned, that's fine. Found yourself a room yet?"
Tsunade nodded and plopped down wherever she felt like. Then, without warning, she pulled out two scrolls and tossed them at Shuuzawa.
"You'll be living here from now on. Forget about your old place; you don't need to return to the ANBU either."
"That old man knew your situation and wouldn't let you come here. His eyesight must be damaged."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have made so many bad calls, like when Shuuzawa got jumped by his good teammates, and no one came to help.
Shuuzawa gave a dry chuckle and quickly caught the scrolls Tsunade had thrown. "These contain the history of the Senju Clan… along with a lot of jutsu."
Tsunade didn't try to hide anything and spoke plainly. "There's a high chance you have Senju blood in you. It's hard to prove, of course."
"But one fact is undeniable: aside from my grandfather, no one has ever awakened Wood Release alone."
"Even those who gained it through research or experiments lacked something essential. But you have that something. No one would doubt that you're a Senju—myself included."
Tsunade's words made Shuuzawa blink. She was surprisingly thoughtful. She didn't try to force the Senju identity on him just because of Wood Release.
Maybe she was trying to comfort him. After all, Shuuzawa had been an orphan since birth and grew up in an orphanage.
Now that he was a powerful shinobi suddenly being assigned to a clan could be overwhelming for some people. So Shuuzawa didn't deny it… but he wasn't going to fully accept it either.
He still needed to keep using the Senju name to "bluff" his way through things.
"So take your time reading it, and work hard." Tsunade stretched lazily, then continued.
"If you need anything, ask Shizune. She's been with me for years and knows some of the knowledge. You can also come to me directly."
"As for Wood Release… I can't help you—I can't use it myself. But the knowledge in those scrolls should be enough for you to study."
"Got it," Shuuzawa nodded, then glanced around with a hint of confusion.
"By the way, Lady Tsunade—"
"Stop calling me 'Lady'. You're my student now, more or less. Just call me 'Sensei'."
Before Shuuzawa could finish, Tsunade cut him off. He didn't argue—he wasn't fond of formal titles anyway.
Having another teacher wasn't a bad thing. Besides, most people Shuuzawa knew had some 'mentor and disciple' dynamic.
"Alright, Tsunade-sensei. Where are Shisui and Yuugao? I haven't seen them around."
"Your little girlfriend and Shizune went out to get some food. I figured we'd have dinner together before anything else,"
Tsunade teased with a sly grin, though her expression soon shifted. "As for that Uchiha kid, he said he wanted to check in at home, so I let him go."
"I see." Shuuzawa nodded calmly. He didn't care much about Tsunade's teasing.
After all, Hayate and he weren't in the same ANBU squad. Hayate was younger and hadn't moved yet, so Shuuzawa had no intention of backing off.
Hayate and Yuugao had entered ANBU together, but their units differed. That might change later, and given that they both trained in kenjutsu, they'd likely be drawn to each other.
Shuuzawa had no clue when their relationship began—Kishimoto never said. From what he saw, Yuugao treated Hayate like a senior.
That meant the opportunity was still open. He was close and present—why give up his advantage?
Shisui's desire to go home was understandable. Even though they were in ANBU, Shuuzawa knew the Uchiha were never truly at peace.
With a brand new Mangekyō emerging, how could the clan sit still?
Shuuzawa didn't know what Shisui was thinking, but out of respect as teammates, he felt he should at least walk him out.
"I'll go see Shisui off. It's not great for him to leave alone."
"Up to you. He shouldn't be too far yet," Tsunade replied, not objecting. Shisui's Mangekyō still unsettled her, but she trusted the old man's decision.
Tsunade wasn't as optimistic about the Uchiha as her grandfather,
but she wasn't as extreme as her granduncle.
Even her granduncle had begrudgingly accepted Hashirama's wishes—to tame and guide the Uchiha clan instead of erasing them.
"All right, I'm heading out." After one last glance at her, Shuuzawa stood and walked outside.
Not long after, he spotted Shisui, who was already about to leave. "Ah, Shuuzawa-kun, what brings you here?" Shisui greeted him with a relaxed smile.
"Don't tell me you're here to drag me back for dinner?"
"I didn't prepare chopsticks for you, so just hurry home," Shuuzawa replied with a smirk.
Shisui nearly rolled his eyes. "Fine, I won't get in the way of you and Yuugao. Seriously, you..."
"As long as you know. I'll walk with you a bit, Shisui-senpai."
"Don't call me 'senpai'. We're the same age, and technically, you've been in ANBU longer than I have," Shisui replied, chuckling as the two walked out of the Senju estate together.
Dusk had fallen.
The sunset dyed everything in a deep red, and a gentle breeze stirred fallen leaves as it swept past. The scene brought a strange stillness over Shisui as his thoughts wandered.
Since Shuuzawa told him that story last time, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with the Uchiha.
Like the sunset before them—beautiful but tinged with a sense of approaching darkness, it felt like the clan was heading for a quiet collapse, and Shisui hated that feeling.
It wasn't what he wanted, and it wasn't the path he wished his clan to take.
He'd held onto a thought ever since, and now it finally spilled out.
"Thank you, Shuuzawa."
"Huh?" Shuuzawa blinked, confused by the sudden gratitude.
"That story you told me last time opened my eyes." Shisui smiled, not beating around the bush. "And thank you for the reminder. It made me think deeply."
"But... there are still things I can't decide alone. I was wondering... do you have any other ideas?"
"Ideas?" Shuuzawa raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling Shisui was trying to pull him into something.
Even if Shuuzawa didn't mind getting involved, he had no idea what Shisui was thinking. So he forced a light smile.
"What ideas could I have? It was just a story I heard. Who knows how much of it was true?"
"Is that so?" Shisui took a deep breath and activated his Sharingan.
His eyes swept across the surroundings with sharp precision, scanning everything—any sign of movement, traces of chakra, even insects—nothing escaped his notice.
Once he confirmed they weren't being watched, he lowered his voice.
"Shuuzawa-kun, if the child in your story—if someone could somehow change his thinking and stop him from following in his father's footsteps... guide him to a better path... what do you think his fate would be?"
Change the child's mindset...Shuuzawa let out a slow sigh. This was Uchiha Shisui—still walking the same path as in the original story.
Likely planning to use Kotoamatsukami to alter Fugaku's will. Maybe even more. But would that work?
"What kind of method are we talking about? Genjutsu or persuasion?" Shuuzawa turned to Shisui, choosing his words carefully.
"If it's persuasion, I'd tell you not to waste your breath. Once someone's heart has been ignited by anger, they've already stepped into a trap they don't even see."
"Escaping from that situation would already be extremely difficult," Shuuzawa replied quietly. "If they truly changed, people would still say, 'It's just an act. He's faking it.'"
"This..." Shisui hesitated, then asked cautiously, "Then... what if it's through a genjutsu?"
"Then it would be even worse," Shuuzawa replied bluntly without hesitation
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