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"We haven't moved yet because those people in the Grass Village are still useful. But it wouldn't hurt to teach them a little lesson."
"True," Kurotsuchi nodded. He'd been curious about it, too. Who wouldn't want to stay healthy and keep fighting forever?
Grass Village had been leaning toward them recently and offered various benefits within the Land of Grass, which was why Iwagakure held back.
Still, Kurotsuchi was a little puzzled. "Lord Tsuchikage, how can we be sure Konoha will send someone?"
"Oh, please, that's easy," Ōnoki rolled his eyes. They hadn't thoroughly investigated the intel, so it wasn't exactly solid—but that didn't stop him from using it.
"Spread the word. Say they've been using people from the Uzumaki or Senju clans for human experimentation. Then add that I've taken an interest in the matter myself."
"I don't believe Konoha would stay quiet for a second after hearing names like Uzumaki and Senju."
"Understood." Kurotsuchi nodded. It was deception, sure—but shinobi used whatever means were necessary to complete their missions. He didn't see anything wrong with that.
"Then, who do we send to deal with them?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ōnoki shook his head lightly, tapping his desk with a smirk.
"The Akatsuki have already handled quite a few things we couldn't afford to get involved in directly. So let's make this another one of theirs."
"All right. We'll leave the task to them."
....
"Dinner's ready!"
"Thanks, Shizune, Yuugao—appreciate it."
At the Senju compound in Konoha, Shigenari Shuuzawa looked a little worn out, but when he heard the food was ready, he ran out with a grin.
To an old rogue like him, eating and flirting were fundamental truths of life—written right into his DNA.
DNA didn't care if the individual lived or died but ensured the group's survival. That was its mission. That mission lined up perfectly with Shuuzawa's own beliefs.
"Looks pretty good." Tsunade stepped out of her room, giving the spread on the table a once-over.
Satisfied with what she saw, she gave a small nod. The dishes looked great, at least in terms of presentation. But then she pursed her lips slightly.
"Shizune, Yuugao, didn't I say I wanted some sake? Where's the alcohol?"
"It's already prepared, Lady Tsunade," Yuugao replied after glancing at the silent Shizune, clearly resigning herself to speaking up.
"Excellent," Tsunade's mood immediately brightened. "Taking you on as my student was the right call!"
Shuuzawa turned his head, speechless. This woman might have soft-looking skin but clearly had a thick face. How could she say that with a straight face?
He still remembered how she reacted when he'd first brought up Yuugao becoming her student.
"You trying to hand over your little girlfriend or something? Don't joke around. I don't just take in any random student. No talent, no grit—I'm not interested!"
"I exchanged my latest mission reward for cash. Lord Hokage agreed to give me five million ryo. Sensei, didn't you say debt collectors were chasing you?"
"What's that supposed to mean? That town you wrecked settled my debt!" Tsunade raised her eyebrow.
"What about your other debts? Or do you plan on leveling all the towns those collectors are from, too? And don't tell me the place won't get rebuilt."
"Five million ryo, huh… You wouldn't want to be caught with no money when they come knocking, right?"
"…Deal! Taking Yuugao as my student is a wise decision!"
And now she had the nerve to say it was a wise decision? This was all thanks to the power of cold, hard cash!
"What's with that look?" Tsunade sat cross-legged on the tatami mat. As soon as she got comfortable, she caught the expression on Shuuzawa's face.
"Get over here and eat. Or do I need to chew it for you and feed you myself?"
"…Wouldn't mind," Shuuzawa muttered under his breath. He quickly moved to sit next to Yuugao.
"Shuuzawa-kun, here." Yuugao immediately handed him a bowl and chopsticks. She still looked a little tense, and her cheeks had become pink.
She hadn't expected Shuuzawa to follow through—to make her Tsunade's disciple!
This was Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin! The creator of modern medical ninjutsu!
Even though she'd already noticed her new master lived an eccentric lifestyle, that didn't change how highly she regarded her.
Yuugao was truly grateful to Shuuzawa. She knew that she never would've had this opportunity if he hadn't stepped in.
In Konoha, countless others would give anything to be Tsunade's apprentice.
"Tch." Tsunade gave them a sidelong glance, looking mildly annoyed by the sweet moment.
Then she casually asked, "So, what have you been up to lately? I've noticed some shifts in your chakra—some new insights, maybe?"
"Sort of." Shuuzawa nodded. He had made some progress. After moving homes, life had been fairly relaxed.
After all, he had just kidnapped the Fourth Raikage, so Hiruzen Sarutobi was on edge and wasn't giving him any field assignments for the time being.
That left Shuuzawa with plenty of time to focus on other things.
Naturally, he began poring through historical records of the Senju clan—he was still trying to find someone, after all.
More importantly, he'd started researching his "Yang Release Chakra Mode."
He had already used the insight from the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, which inspired him greatly.
Of course, copying it completely wasn't an option anymore. Lightning and Yang Release had different properties.
Thankfully, Lightning Release worked by stimulating cells to boost speed and power, while Yang Release aimed at enhancing overall physical strength. That helped simplify a few things.
His real headache, however, was figuring out how to merge the Cursed Seal with the power of the Dragon Vein.
He didn't want just a basic combination of three forces—he could already do that.
He wanted a form like Naruto's or the Fourth Raikage's—chakra enveloping his body like armor.
The Lightning Release Chakra Mode had helped point him in that direction, but the work ahead was still massive.
He needed to step it up. "Oh? Already getting ideas?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Tell me. I may not know Wood Release firsthand, but I've at least seen it plenty. Who knows—I might be able to offer some insight."
"…Honestly, sensei, I don't think you can help with this part."
Shuuzawa shrugged. If it were medical ninjutsu, maybe she could pitch in. But with this? Better not.
"What, now you won't even tell me?" Tsunade poured herself a cup of sake, sounding slightly annoyed.
"That's not it. It's just… what I'm doing is a bit risky."
Shuuzawa quickly ran through his thoughts and decided to share an idea he'd had for a while—and had already started testing.
"I've been thinking—if I ever have to fight someone like the Fourth Raikage again, my current Wood Release might not be enough to take him down.
So what if I combine Wood Release with Flying Thunder God? For example, I could plant my FTG seals all over the battlefield when I cast Deep Forest Emergence."
Wide-area suppression through Wood Release, combined with the pinpoint lethality of Flying Thunder God, sounded like a devastating combo, no matter how you looked at it.
Sometimes, Shuuzawa couldn't help but wonder if Tobirama Senju had come up with Flying Thunder God to coordinate with his brother's Wood Release—locking down enemies so Tobirama could finish them off.
Ultimately, his "amazing big brother" didn't need his help—he took down all the enemies alone.
Or maybe he figured he could awaken Wood Release, too, and created the Flying Thunder God to better complement it?
Of course, both were long dead, so everything Shuuzawa imagined was just speculation, which is impossible to confirm now.
What Shuuzawa could do, however, was try to replicate their techniques—and he pulled it off.
Using this exact idea, he could always appear precisely behind the Fourth Raikage during his battle.
Even though he hadn't summoned vast forests to assist him, he could still plant cursed seal-tagged seeds around the Raikage's surroundings.
"Flying Thunder God, combined with Wood Release…" Shizune and Yuugao didn't fully understand, but they knew both techniques were treasured secrets of the Hidden Leaf.
The fact that Shuuzawa could use either of them alone was already astonishing—and now he was studying how to combine them.
Tsunade, who overheard everything, froze in shock. Unlike Shizune and Yuugao, she fully understood what these techniques meant.
They had both been created by her grandfather. Even she couldn't predict what kind of power their combination might unleash—but she could feel it: this was the most compatible path for Shuuzawa.
Wood Release, with its vast reach and offensive capability, paired with the elusive, lightning-fast Flying Thunder God, would make Shuuzawa nearly untouchable.
The problem? She didn't know either of these jutsu herself. "Enough," she muttered, face darkening.
"Let's just eat." She regretted asking now—it only made her feel useless.
She threw back a cup of sake in frustration. Then, a strange realization hit her. Why the hell does this kid know all of Grandpa's jutsu?
....
Rain poured endlessly across the Land of Rain as if it would never stop. Inside a towering spire, the eyes of Tendo Pain suddenly opened.
Several projection figures appeared around him. "Is everyone here?" he asked, scanning the room with his Rinnegan.
Once he confirmed, he nodded. "Let's begin. Iwagakure has issued us a new mission."
"Oh? Another job wiping out rebel factions in some region?" Kakuzu responded first—predictably so.
As a bounty hunter, his world revolved around money, and Iwagakure was one of Akatsuki's biggest clients.
Because of their aggressive control over smaller nations, plenty of rebel groups had popped up—and Iwa didn't want to get their hands dirty.
That's where Akatsuki came in: hired to handle the dirty work and always well paid. Kakuzu had a good impression of Iwagakure—at least as long as the money flowed.
"This time, it's not just rebel-hunting. The task is a little more interesting," said Pain. He looked at each of them.
"Some promising Leaf shinobi recently clashed with the Fourth Raikage in the Sugi Village. Iwa wants us to gather information and eliminate them if possible. They'll provide the intel. That's the situation."
"I see," Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. Taking out Konoha's rising stars? Yeah, that sounded like something Iwa would do.
It was common for the Great Nations to eliminate promising enemies early—future wars could be decided by just one or two of these prodigies.
"You guys can take care of it. I'm not interested," Sasori said with a shake. He wasn't into these kinds of missions.
Since Kakuzu had already accepted, he had no reason to join. Zetsu, representing Tobi at the meeting, remained silent. He wasn't too interested either.
But Pain wasn't done yet. "Kakuzu alone might not be enough. Have none of you been paying attention to the events in the Sugi Village?"
"One of the Leaf kids wields both Flying Thunder God and Wood Release—and another has a Mangekyō Sharingan."
"What?" Zetsu, who had been zoning out, suddenly froze. Why do those powers sound so familiar? After thinking for a moment, it hit him like a brick.
"Shigenari Shuuzawa and Uchiha Shisui?"
"Huh?" Kakuzu looked at him, confused. "You know those kids?"
Pain turned to him, curious. Even Sasori's expression changed—none of those abilities were minor.
Wood Release, Flying Thunder God, the Mangekyō Sharingan… any one of them would make someone a threat.
"I do. I'm sure you all know them, too," said Zetsu. He glanced around the room and then looked straight at Sasori.
"Sasori, remember the time you got humiliated in Sunagakure by some Leaf ANBU?"
"…What, don't tell me—" Sasori's expression darkened instantly. He hadn't forgotten that embarrassment of being manipulated like a pawn.
It was a stain on his record. "Yes," Zetsu nodded, shooting a subtle glance toward Pain.
"That was them. Those two kids have grown considerably stronger. While tracking Uchiha Obito, I discovered how far they've progressed."
"Shigenari Shuuzawa commands both Wood Release and the Flying Thunder God. Uchiha Shisui wields the Mangekyō."
"Technically, they're part of Konoha's ANBU—but they're working for Danzo Shimura. Sasori, I'm sure you understand what that means."
"Of course, I do," Sasori's face twisted in irritation. He remembered Shuuzawa's mocking words: 'Danzo-sama sends his regards.'
Pain's face also darkened. Danzo Shimura had worked with Hanzō to murder Yahiko—that debt had yet to be repaid.
"This time, you're all going," Pain said after a moment of silence.
In truth, he would've liked to handle it himself, just like when he recruited Kakuzu.
But he had another responsibility—feeding chakra into the Gedo Statue, the lynchpin in his plan to collect the Tailed Beasts.
Without chakra, it couldn't function, and his dream would crumble. He needed to build strength and prepare for his final confrontation with Hanzō.
The man had been in hiding since their last clash—finding him was difficult enough, and defeating him would require Pain's full power.
"No problem," Sasori replied coldly. Kakuzu smiled. "Sounds good to me. I'm curious how this kid's Wood Release stacks up against Hashirama Senju's."
Zetsu remained silent, but his mind was racing. Should I bring in Obito to deal with this? It might be necessary.
But then, Kakuzu suddenly turned toward him. "By the way, pitcher plant—you just said you were tracking Uchiha Obito?"
"Huh?" Zetsu blinked, then nodded.
Kakuzu lit up. "So, what did you find out? Where is Uchiha Obito? Konoha's offering a very generous bounty, you know…"
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