Konoha Year 48, November 15th.
Last month, Konoha had just experienced the Nine-Tails' rampage. Before its vitality could recover, another major incident occurred.
One of the legendary Sannin, a fellow disciple of the Third Hokage alongside Jiraiya and Tsunade, a hero who established distinguished merits in the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars, and even a candidate for the Fourth Hokage—Orochimaru—had defected.
The reason was his unauthorized use of living humans for experiments to research forbidden techniques.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had resumed his position following the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage, dispatched the Anbu to pursue him. Simultaneously, he ordered the Anbu to search the village to determine how many bases Orochimaru had.
In a dimly lit base, sixty containers specifically designed for human experimentation were stored.
Fifty-nine of them were shattered. Only one remained, filled with fluid and illuminated by a faint light. Inside, a child of only six or seven years old opened his eyes slightly, surveying the laboratory where one could not even see their own fingers in the darkness.
"Lord Hokage, over here."
Hearing a voice faintly from outside, the corners of the child's mouth raised as if a burden had been lifted. His widened eyes slowly closed, and he thought to himself, Finally here. I have waited a long time for this moment.
With a squelching sound, as the child closed his eyes, a tough tree branch extended from the flesh of his back. Like a sharp blade, it pierced the glass of the container, causing the fluid to surge out.
At the same time, the door to the laboratory opened from the outside. Piercing light flooded in. Sarutobi Hiruzen, dressed in his Hokage robes, walked in and witnessed this very scene. His eyes immediately widened as large as bells.
"..."
...
Three days later, inside a ward at the Konoha Hospital.
The comatose child sat up in the hospital bed. His face did not show the wrinkling expected from staying in a container for a long time; instead, it radiated a healthy rosiness. He showed no signs of hunger or fatigue despite sleeping for three days on an IV drip, appearing extremely energetic.
He had no name.
Or rather, this body had no name.
His name from his previous life was meaningless. As an orphan, he had always used aliases while wandering the world.
"Three years. I finally got out of that hellhole."
The child clenched his fist, feeling a powerful strength inappropriate for his physical age. He lay back on the bed, clasping his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling. His gaze seemed unfocused, but in reality, he was looking at a virtual panel that only he could see.
[Name: —]
[Age: 7]
[Kekkei Genkai: Wood Release]
[Chakra Attributes: Yin, Yang, Five Elements]
[Wood Release: Level 1 (Proficiency: 5%)]
[Yin: Level 0 (Proficiency: 0%)]
[Yang: Level 2 (Proficiency: 15%)]
[Fire: Level 0 (Proficiency: 0%)]
[Water: Level 5 (Proficiency: 38%)]
[Earth: Level 5 (Proficiency: 38%)]
[Lightning: Level 0 (Proficiency: 0%)]
[Wind: Level 0 (Proficiency: 0%)]
[Bloodline Ninjutsu: None]
[Ninjutsu: None]
[Experience Points: 0]
"Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements. One more 'Yin' attribute than Senju Hashirama. Have I surpassed the master?" The child smiled and closed his eyes again.
He was a transmigrator and had been in this world for three years.
Because of his arrival, this body avoided death from the rejection of Hashirama's cells and successfully survived.
However, due to the intense corrosive nature of the cells, the child's life had been a living hell for the first two years.
Fortunately, during his moments of pain, an electronically synthesized voice constantly rang in his mind.
He had come with a data-stream game system.
While Hashirama's cells wreaked havoc inside the child's body, they gradually fused with him due to the system's influence.
When his Yang attribute Chakra rose to Level 1, and his Earth and Water attributes rose to Level 5, the child finally obtained the Wood Release, the Kekkei Genkai used by the God of Shinobi to pacify the chaotic times.
But there was one person who obtained this Kekkei Genkai faster than him.
That was Kinoe, who was taken away by Shimura Danzo—the future top expert of the Anbu, Tenzo, also known as Konoha's strongest architect and Captain Yamato of the new Team 7.
However, this child was more perfect than Yamato. He inherited all six of Senju Hashirama's chakra attributes, and including his own innate Yin attribute, he possessed a constitution with all attributes, just like the Third Hokage and Hatake Kakashi.
Because of Yamato's successful example, Danzo held great expectations for this child, seemingly wanting to assemble a pair of Wood Release twin stars.
Even though the child did not wake up for a long time, Danzo sent people to deliver nutrient solutions to the container on time.
However, understanding the nature of the "Scapegoat King" Danzo, the child never broke out of the jar. He remained in the container, waiting for an opportunity.
Or rather, waiting for a specific person.
That person was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In his previous life, he was a veteran Otaku. He had thoroughly analyzed this long-finished popular manga series.
He knew clearly that neither Danzo nor the Third Hokage were purely good people.
But compared to Danzo, who was a self-serving egoist, staying by the Third Hokage's side to develop was undoubtedly the better choice.
Especially since Yamato had been taken away by Danzo first. Due to the concept of first impressions, Danzo's value placed on Yamato would certainly be higher than on this child.
In the future, Yamato was destined to betray him. After that, Danzo would strengthen the Cursed Seal bindings on his subordinates.
If he followed Danzo, and did not develop enough strength before Yamato's betrayal, the child would certainly be brainwashed by the enraged Danzo, unless the Third Hokage could save him as well.
Therefore, the child chose to stay by the Third Hokage's side.
In reality, were it not for the need to obtain Wood Release ninjutsu, the child would have taken advantage of the Nine-Tails' rampage to escape the laboratory long ago.
Click.
At this moment, the door to the ward opened.
Sarutobi Hiruzen walked in. Seeing the child startled awake by the sound of the door and looking at him with a face full of vigilance, a kind and gentle smile immediately appeared on his face. "Child, you're awake."
"Who are you?"
The child clenched his hands, and a wave of materialized chakra radiated from his body.
The powerful vitality and chakra were fully revealed. Sarutobi Hiruzen watched with immense joy in his heart, not minding the child's rudeness at all. Maintaining his smile, he said, "Child, don't be nervous. I am not your enemy. I am the one who saved you from that dark place."
"That light... was it you?"
The child's eyes widened slightly. He looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with surprise, wearing an expression of sudden realization.
"It was me."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat on the chair beside the hospital bed. He looked at the child as if sizing up a precious treasure, his benevolent appearance resembling that of a grandfather treating his own grandson. He asked, "Child, do you remember your name?"
"No..."
The child shook his head in confusion. "Since I became conscious, I have always been in that place..."
"In that case, stay by my side."
Sarutobi Hiruzen reached out and patted the child's head, comforting him softly, "From now on, your name is Yagyu. This village is your home."
Yagyu was the name of a vanished place in the Land of Fire, and also the birthplace listed in the child's files.
Sarutobi Hiruzen named him after the child's hometown.
"...Mhm."
Yagyu nodded silently, lowering his head to look at his hands, forcing himself not to laugh out loud.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's acting skills were exquisite but tinged with a bit of awkwardness.
Yagyu, who had studied micro-expressions and acting in his previous life, almost broke character seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen pretending to be sympathetic while hiding the wild joy in his heart.
But it was understandable.
Yagyu knew the value of Wood Release. It was far more powerful than the Sharingan of the Uchiha, the strongest clan in the ninja world.
Senju Hashirama's Wood Release was not inferior even to the supreme eye technique, the Rinnegan.