A New Day—Saturday.
At nine in the morning, Kitazawa arrived at the Hokage's office.
"Kitazawa-sama." Haru, standing at the door, bowed slightly. "Hokage-sama went to receive the Fire Daimyō and hasn't returned yet."
"I'll wait for her," Kitazawa said with a nod.
He went inside, sat on the sofa, and waited—but he didn't idle. He kept refining his limb-regeneration medical ninjutsu. If nothing went wrong, he'd crack it within two days—just in time as a congratulatory gift for Tsunade becoming the Fifth Hokage.
Half an hour later, footsteps approached.
Kitazawa looked up and saw Tsunade with Shizune.
"Kitazawa? When did you get here?" Tsunade sat down across from him.
"Not long ago," he said with a smile.
"What did you need me for?" Tsunade yawned. Ever since becoming Hokage she could no longer sleep in. She used to get up around nine or ten; now she had to rise two hours earlier. With the Fire Daimyō in today, the whole morning had been busy—including breakfast with the daimyo's family.
"I found an extremely unusual shinobi in Anbu," Kitazawa said, face turning serious.
"Oh?" Tsunade crossed her long legs, interest piqued. "How unusual?"
"A Wood Release user," Kitazawa said quietly.
"How would Anbu have a Wood Release user?" Tsunade blurted, stunned. Shizune, behind her, looked equally shocked.
"Tsunade-sama, didn't Konoha conduct Wood Release experiments?" Kitazawa asked instead of answering directly.
"We did, but the losses were too great and the old man shut it down," Tsunade said, frowning. "Don't tell me there was a survivor?"
"There was a survivor, but not from that round," Kitazawa explained. "After those experiments, Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo ran another set."
Tsunade froze. Danzo and Orochimaru ran Wood Release experiments, too? She suddenly put the pieces together: Orochimaru's defection might well be tied to those experiments.
"How did I not know?" Tsunade's face darkened. "The old man actually kept this from me!"
By rights, the survivor should have been in Root. If he was now in Anbu, there was only one explanation: Sarutobi Hiruzen had pulled him back to Anbu. It was Wood Release, after all—no matter how much Hiruzen indulged Danzo, he wouldn't hand over a Wood Release user.
What annoyed her was that Hiruzen had never told her any of this.
"My guess is he was worried you'd clash with Danzo," Kitazawa coughed lightly. "His name is Tenzo—the lone survivor of that round of Wood Release experiments."
"Haru, bring Tenzo here!" Tsunade called toward the door.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," came Haru's prompt reply.
"Here are Tenzo's files, Tsunade-sama," Kitazawa said, handing over a scroll.
Tsunade opened it and read. It recorded Tenzo's life in detail: injected with Hashirama's cells as an infant; later, with Hatake Kakashi's help, retrieved into Anbu by Hiruzen.
"Shimura Danzo is truly inhuman," Tsunade said, anger flickering across her face. Many died in Orochimaru and Danzo's experiments. Out of sixty infants, only Tenzo survived.
"I never thought I'd see a Wood Release shinobi again," Tsunade murmured, closing the scroll, her mood softening. Wood Release held enormous meaning for Konoha—and for her in particular, the granddaughter of the first Wood Release shinobi, Senju Hashirama.
"How do you plan to place Tenzo?" Kitazawa asked.
"From the files, his Wood Release looks like a fairly standard kekkei genkai," Tsunade mused. The scroll listed Tenzo's repertoire—but core techniques like the Wood Human Technique and Top Transformed Buddha were missing.
Without those, Tenzo's strength fell far short of Hashirama's. Now she understood why Hiruzen had kept Tenzo out of the public eye as a regular Anbu operative: limited strength meant no qualitative change for the village.
"His Wood Release ultimately comes from the First Hokage's cells—it isn't a 'proper' path," Kitazawa said, shaking his head.
There are only two true paths to a kekkei genkai. One is self-synthesis—extremely difficult; almost no one manages it. Even Hiruzen, said to have mastered all of Konoha's jutsu, never synthesized a kekkei genkai and had to settle for combining nature transformations. The other is bloodline inheritance from one's parents—like the Uchiha or Hyūga. Even then, inheritance isn't guaranteed; Kurama Yakumo's genjutsu kekkei genkai, for instance, awakened a generation later.
"Fair point," Tsunade said with a nod. "Let him stay in Anbu."
Just then, a knock sounded.
"Come in," Tsunade called, looking toward the door.
Haru entered with Tenzo.
"So you're Tenzo?" Tsunade said, eyes on him. "Remove your mask."
Tenzo obeyed at once, revealing a wooden, expressionless face.
"Definitely Root-trained," Tsunade muttered, shaking her head. He gave off the same closed, unapproachable air as Root operatives—unpleasant to be around.
"You've got Wood Release—put it to good use," Tsunade said firmly. "Remember: Wood Release exists to protect Konoha."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." A flicker crossed Tenzo's eyes. He didn't fully understand yet, but he acknowledged the order.
"Tsunade-sama, you should give him a real name," Kitazawa suggested.
"Tenzo" wasn't a name—just an Anbu callsign Hiruzen had assigned. In Root, his code name had been "A."
"A name?" Tsunade thought for a moment. "Yamato."
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," he answered at once. As Hokage—and Hashirama's granddaughter—she had every right to name him, since his Wood Release came from Hashirama's cells.
"You're dismissed," Tsunade said with a wave.
Yamato bowed and left with Haru.
"What a pity," Tsunade murmured, withdrawing her gaze. She'd hoped Hashirama's mighty Wood Release could reappear in the shinobi world; that now seemed unrealistic. Wood Release cultivated from his cells could hardly measure up to his own.
"Tsunade-sama, do you think true Wood Release could ever be synthesized?" Kitazawa asked casually.
"In theory, yes; in practice, no," Tsunade said after a sip of water. "If it were possible, the old man would have it already." In all the shinobi world, no one surpassed Hiruzen's mastery of the five natures—his Five Styles: Great Serial Bullets already eclipsed most kekkei genkai in sheer power.
"I think I could try," Kitazawa said, dead serious.
"You?" Tsunade leaned back, arms crossed, giving him a once-over. "You think you can surpass the old man in the five natures?"
"Hard to say," Kitazawa blinked. He didn't trust himself—he trusted the system.
"You're as… bold as ever," Tsunade said with a laugh. "But forget synthesizing Wood Release—it won't happen. Don't waste your time."
"It wouldn't be a waste," Kitazawa replied. "I've hit a ceiling. I need a kekkei genkai."
Tsunade blinked, then, thinking it over, had to admit he wasn't wrong. He'd mastered seven nature transformations; even if he kept polishing them, at best he'd become a second Hiruzen. But Kitazawa was still young. If he wanted to surpass Hiruzen, kekkei genkai was the avenue.
There was one more path, of course: Sage Mode from the three great holy lands of summoning. But that was no easier than synthesizing a kekkei genkai. She and Orochimaru hadn't managed it; only Jiraiya had scraped by with a "half" Sage Mode, relying on the two sages of Mount Myōboku, Fukasaku and Shima.
"I'd like to exchange this war's merits for Wood Release techniques," Kitazawa said, stating his goal.
"If that's what you want, give it a try," Tsunade said at last, though she still doubted he could fuse Earth and Water into Wood Release.
"Keep your merits," she added. "You're my student. You're entitled to learn Wood Release without spending them."
"All right," Kitazawa said, lifting a brow. Konoha merits were useful—if not for jutsu or tools, they could always be turned into money.
"I'll go fetch you some Wood Release techniques," Tsunade said, rising and leaving the office.
She wasn't gone long—about ten minutes later, she returned. Kitazawa accepted the Wood Release scroll and opened it. Inside were three techniques: Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall, Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique, and Wood Release: Great Forest Technique. They were fairly basic Wood Release jutsu, but as a kekkei genkai they weren't easy—at least B-rank across the board.
"If you can learn those, come back for more," Tsunade said, breaking into a smile. "I honestly hope you can." Neither she, Nor Nawaki, nor her parents had inherited Hashirama's Wood Release—a long-held regret. If Kitazawa learned it, as her student, it would be like a skip-generation awakening.
"I'll do my best," Kitazawa said, smiling.
"Anything else?" Tsunade's expression shifted to weary. "If not, I have to get back to work. It's killing me."
"That's all. I'll drop by Anbu," Kitazawa said, standing to take his leave.
"Kitazawa!" Sarutobi Asuma greeted him with a grin at the Anbu office. "Look how popular we are—just one day and we've had over a hundred applications."
"That many?" Kitazawa walked over and looked at the stack on the desk—shinobi eager to join Anbu. The weakest were elite chūnin; many were jōnin.
"I'm guessing they're here for Tsunade-sama," Asuma said, pulling out a bundle. "These are all Uchiha."
"Uchiha?" Kitazawa flipped through a few.
"It's the first time so many Uchiha have applied to Anbu," Asuma said, surprised. The Uchiha had Anbu members before, but usually with ulterior motives—Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi. Fugaku had sent them to be spies, only for both to defect to Hiruzen's side. There was another reason too: Hiruzen hadn't dared to trust Uchiha fully.
"What's your take?" Asuma asked.
"Run the process. Final decisions go to Tsunade-sama," Kitazawa said offhandedly. Itachi was a great tool, but that didn't mean every Uchiha was. If someone met his criteria, he'd use them; if not, he wouldn't.
"Not just Uchiha—Hyūga, too," Asuma added, producing another stack. "Feels like Tsunade-sama's more popular than the old man."
Onee-sama vs. Crusty Jiji—who's anyone going to choose? Ahem.
Kitazawa understood the Uchiha and Hyūga: they wanted a larger slice of power. Why hadn't they pushed under Hiruzen? Simple—they couldn't beat him. Tsunade had a fiery temper but not Hiruzen's deep, scheming patience. Her temperament was closer to Hashirama's, which gave them hope.
Kitazawa didn't mind. In the ninja world, strength rules. When Hashirama was alive, both Konoha and the whole world stayed peaceful—no one dared make trouble. Tsunade might not manage that, but Kitazawa could. He'd leave the heavy lifting to the system.
"Same deal—run the process," he said after a glance.
"Got it," Asuma nodded. "I'll pick a group for assessment to verify their strength."
"Mm." Kitazawa didn't linger and took his leave.
The next day—Sunday—Kitazawa rose early. Kurenai didn't sleep in, either; they were attending a funeral.
"I'm going out to buy flowers," Kitazawa said to Kurenai. She'd changed into a black kimono, her usual brightness shaded by a somber air.
"Okay," Kurenai nodded. "You'll be back in time for breakfast."
Kitazawa headed for Konoha's Flower Street, literally a street of florists. The Yamanaka Flower Shop sat there. Along the way, he saw villagers and shinobi alike in black. The sun was bright, but the air felt heavy with grief.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" A splash of gold—Yamanaka Ino's beaming face.
"Morning, Ino," Kitazawa walked over. Ino wore a black dress, quieter than her usual lively self.
"Kitazawa-sama," greeted Yamanaka Rino, Ino's mother, rising to acknowledge him.
"Sensei, you're here for flowers?" Ino asked, looking up.
"Yeah," Kitazawa nodded. "Two bouquets of white chrysanthemums."
"Ino, pick two bouquets of white chrysanthemums for Kitazawa-sama," Rino said with a smile.
"Wait for me, Sensei!" Ino dashed to the racks like the wind.
"This child's so scatterbrained—please forgive her, Kitazawa-sama," Rino said, shaking her head.
"I'm adorable, thank you very much!" Ino stuck out her tongue and called back, "Right, Sensei?"
"Right," Kitazawa chuckled.
Ino flashed her mother a triumphant grin.
Rino could only sigh helplessly—but she was happy. She could tell Ino and Kitazawa got along. With Kitazawa's current status, befriending him could only help the Yamanaka clan.
"Here you go, Sensei!" Ino returned, arms full of two white bouquets.
"Thanks," Kitazawa said, taking them. "How much?"
"No charge—our treat," Rino said with a shake of her head.
"All right." Kitazawa wasn't one to argue. "I'll get going then—see you at the Memorial Stone."
Nine a.m. Konoha's Memorial Stone. A sea of people—reminded Kitazawa of holiday crowds in his past life.
"Kitazawa." Hatake Kakashi came over with Might Guy. In this setting, Guy had none of his usual bombast; he was quietly solemn. After greetings, they fell silent and waited.
Kitazawa scanned the crowd and found his students—Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, Kurama Yakumo, and the rest—standing with their families and clans. Hinata noticed him and gave a small wave.
A moment later, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Tsunade arrived together. Retired or not, the Third wouldn't miss the funeral of a war hero. After they paid their respects, everyone proceeded in order to place their flowers. The funeral took nearly two hours.
Kitazawa was about to leave when Tsunade called him back.
"We'll go on ahead," Kurenai said tactfully, departing with Kakashi and the others.
"Come with me," Tsunade said. Her mood felt low. Kitazawa nodded and followed. "Leaving" wasn't quite right—they walked deeper into the grounds behind the Memorial Stone. Kitazawa could guess where to.
Soon Tsunade stopped. Before her stood a row of headstones. Kitazawa glanced over them: Senju Hashirama, Uzumaki Mito, Nawaki, Senju Tobirama, and other Senju or kin.
Tsunade stood there, head lowered. In a black kimono she rarely wore, a different side of her showed itself to Kitazawa.
~~~
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