A few days later, deep underground in Konoha.
Thud!
The heavy sound of a body hitting the floor echoed through the empty secret chamber.
Kinoto, the Root ninja who had escaped, dropped to his knees directly in front of Danzo.
“Danzo-sama…”
“This subordinate is incompetent!”
Without waiting for Danzo to question him, Kinoto recounted the past month’s surveillance in complete detail.
From gambling wildly in casinos…
To getting drunk in taverns…
To Tsunade occasionally teaching the kid Chiba a bit of Medical Ninjutsu when she was in a good mood.
And finally, the unannounced explosion in the forest.
“Tsunade said…”
“…that if we dare send anyone to follow her again, she’ll march straight back to the village and uproot Root entirely.”
When the report concluded, the chamber fell into dead silence.
Danzo sat high on his stone chair.
His remaining single eye was half-squinted as his finger lightly tapped the armrest.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
To the ninja kneeling below, this monotonous sound fell like the footsteps of the Reaper.
Danzo was not angry.
Or rather, he did not care at all about the life or death of the trash on the floor.
He was calculating.
His shadowed face was dark and full of scheme.
“Throwing a tantrum?” Danzo sneered.
The voice sounded as if floating from the depths of hell, cold to the bone.
“Still just a spoiled princess after all.”
In Danzo’s view, Tsunade’s outburst precisely proved her inner weakness.
If she had truly discovered some core secret, or if that kid named Chiba really possessed an unspeakable secret, Tsunade would never throw a tantrum with such fanfare—she would quietly hide him away.
“A useless person with hemophobia…”
“…leading two useless drag-alongs.”
“Hmph! Just a pathetic creature wallowing in the past.”
Danzo stopped tapping the armrest.
So what if she was the First Hokage’s granddaughter?
The current Konoha was already his and Hiruzen Sarutobi’s world.
The Senju clan?
Nothing more than a yellowed noun in history books.
As for that civilian Chunin named Chiba?
An orphan whose parents were cannon fodder—what waves could he possibly make?
Since Tsunade wanted to take a disciple, let her.
Consider it giving her something to do, saving her from embarrassing Konoha every day.
“Drag him down,” Danzo waved his hand casually.
From the darkness, two masked ninjas immediately darted out, dragging away Kinoto.
Soon, silence returned to the secret chamber.
Danzo slowly stood up, walking over to a massive map on the wall.
His single eye stared fixatedly at an area in the center of the map—the Uchiha clan compound.
“Compared to that stray dog…”
“…this group of self-important, red-eyed freaks are the true threat!”
Over the past few months, the atmosphere inside the Uchiha clan had grown increasingly eerie.
The frequency of clan meetings was rising higher and higher.
These people flowing with cursed blood were definitely plotting something!
“Pass down the order:”
“Withdraw all personnel monitoring Tsunade.”
“Transfer them all to the outer perimeter of the Uchiha compound!”
“I want the Uchiha compound locked down so tight that not even a fly can escape!”
Sun rose and moon set.
Seasons changed.
In the blink of an eye, over a year had passed.
The final day of Konoha Year 53.
At the border of the Land of Fire, in a deserted primeval forest.
The night was as dark as ink.
Wild winds swept heavy snow howling through the forest.
A campfire flickered deep inside a cave.
Tsunade held a sake bottle, long asleep.
Shizune was wrapped tightly in a thick blanket, cradling the pink pig Tonton, emitting light snores.
Outside the cave, Chiba sat atop a towering boulder.
He wore no winter clothing against the cold.
Beneath his thin black ninja attire, his muscle lines were smooth and full.
Wild winds ruffled his black hair.
Chiba slowly opened his eyes, the dark skies and drifting snow reflected in his pupils.
System, he thought silently.
A semi-transparent light screen visible only to him expanded before his eyes.
Name: Senju Chiba
Chakra Capacity: Late Beyond Kage-level
Physical Body Strength: Peak Kage-level
Chakra Natures: Water, Earth, Yang
Kekkei Genkai: Perfect Sage Body, Mokuton
Mokuton: Great Waterfall Technique (A-rank), Water Dragon Bullet (B-rank), Water Formation Wall (B-rank)…
Doton: Swamp of the Underworld (A-rank), Earth Dragon Bullet (B-rank), Earth Style Wall (B-rank)…
Mokuton: Deep Forest Emergence (S-rank), Wood Human Technique (S-rank), Wood Dragon Technique (A-rank)…
Special Ninjutsu: Summoning Technique, Chakra Enhanced Strength, Mystical Palm Technique…
Overall Evaluation: You are the new God of Shinobi!
Looking at the information on the screen, the corners of Chiba’s mouth curled up slightly into a satisfied smile.
Over a year.
This hellish year!
Only he knew what he had gone through.
Ever since dealing with those Root rats that day, Tsunade had completely dropped her disguise.
She turned into the most cold-blooded, ruthless demon instructor.
No more bantering at gambling tables, no more getting drunk in taverns.
All that remained was endless slaughter and squeezing!
During the first three months, Tsunade completely sealed Chiba’s ninjutsu, only allowing him to fight her using taijutsu.
A Kage-level powerhouse’s monstrous strength—every time it grazed past his head, it brought a gale of death.
Chiba suffered broken ribs and internal bleeding; once, Tsunade’s fist almost pierced his lung.
But so what?
Every time he reached the brink of death, Chiba’s Primary Sage Body would circulate frantically, its vast vitality forcefully repairing his damaged body.
Combined with Tsunade’s miraculous Medical Ninjutsu, he would appear fully restored by the dawn of the next day, standing before Tsunade once more.
During that inhumane torture, Shizune often wiped away tears behind Tsunade’s back, begging her to stop out of fear Chiba would be beaten to death.
But Tsunade kept a cold face.
She looked at Chiba like a piece of unrefined jade awaiting rigorous forging.
Because she discovered in horror that this boy’s growth speed was beyond human standards!
Every time he took a beating, he evolved.
Those unrefined taijutsu movements became clean, lethal, and flawless at a visible rate.
Tsunade attributed all of this to the terrifying talent of the Senju clan.
However, this was actually Chiba’s God-Level Comprehension at work.
Any complex combat technique or intricate chakra flow was instantly deconstructed into basic code in his mind.
Three months later, taijutsu training ended, and Chiba began specialized ninjutsu training.
That day, standing before a waterfall, after hearing Tsunade explain the principles just once, Chiba wove hand seals and released a brand-new ninjutsu:
“Suiton: Water Dragon Bullet!”
A dozens-of-meters-long azure water dragon rose from the ground, cutting off the entire waterfall!
In that moment, Tsunade’s look toward Chiba changed completely—from seeing a high-potential talent to seeing a monster!
Later came the core Mokuton training.
When Chiba first cultivated a forest that blotted out the sky in front of Tsunade, the legendary Sannin trembled all over.
She drank three full bottles of sake on the spot, crying and laughing like a madwoman.
The Senju clan truly had hope!
She passed on all the Mokuton techniques in her memory to Chiba without reservation: Deep Forest Emergence, Wood Dragon Technique, and even the Wood Human Technique that could contend with Tailed Beasts!
Chiba was like a dry sponge, greedily absorbing this Mokuton knowledge.
Of course, what truly caused a qualitative leap in Chiba was the sign-in at the beginning of this year.
System Reward: Perfect Sage Body!
A physique even purer and more dominant than Hashirama Senju’s.
On the night he fused the Perfect Sage Body, Chiba rolled in the mud from intense pain, blood oozing from every pore.
Old cells were torn apart; new cells rapidly reorganized.
His bone density skyrocketed, and his muscle fibers became tougher than steel wires.
Most terrifying was his chakra.
His already lake-like chakra transformed into a vast ocean under the boost of the Perfect Sage Body—endless and boundless!
Late Beyond Kage-level chakra capacity, combined with a peak Kage-level physical body.
This allowed him to unleash S-rank Mokuton without any hesitation or resistance.
No need for tedious hand seals.
Usually, a simple clap of his hands brought forth whatever he wanted!