Shimura Masao roared angrily, his tone harsh:
"Tsunade, are you really going to protect him? Don't you know how arrogant that brat is? He dared to insult the Third Hokage, even our Shimura clan's Hokage advisor, Danzo-sama. There's nothing he doesn't dare to do!"
Tsunade clasped her hands together, the sound of cracking bones echoing in the air. The corner of her lips curled into a defiant smile.
"So what? Even if one day he steps on the head of your Shimura clan leader, I will still protect him!"
"Tsunade, you—"
Shimura Masao's face was filled with fury, but before this beautiful and powerful woman, he was utterly helpless.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke's expression darkened. He slowly unwrapped the bandages on his right hand, revealing a palm with only three fingers left.
"Princess Tsunade, you are my father's disciple. That brat cut off two of my fingers. I cannot forgive him. Today, he must die!"
"Who did you just say must die?"
A flash of crimson surged into the scene. The eyes of everyone present couldn't even capture the movement. All they saw was that red figure stomping down on Sarutobi Shinnosuke's chest, pressing a ninja blade against his throat.
Kairen's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Sarutobi Shinnosuke, this is the second time!"
"So fast! Like a red flash!" Tsunade was shaken in her heart.
Even she couldn't keep up with the speed Kairen had just displayed. And that red chakra cloaking his body—if she remembered correctly, that was the chakra of a tailed beast.
How could he have that…?
Pinned to the ground under Kairen's foot before all eyes, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, no matter how thick-skinned, was burning with humiliation.
The icy blade against his skin made him relive that day—when Kairen was ready to kill him.
Terror rushed over him, every pore stretched wide with tension.
Several Sarutobi retainers didn't dare move. Kairen defecting was one thing, but their own futures were far more important.
No one could be sure if Kairen truly had the guts to bring his blade down.
"You… what are you trying to do?" Sarutobi Shinnosuke felt the pressure of the blade increase, dread rising within him.
This was a man who dared do anything!
Kairen cast a cold glance around.
"Tell your clan dogs to get lost!"
"You're going too far!"
The blade pressed harder. Blood flowed from Shinnosuke's neck.
Shinnosuke glanced toward his clan retainers.
"Do as he says! Get out of here!"
The Sarutobi retainers exchanged looks, then flickered back, retreating. They didn't leave entirely, instead hiding in the shadows, keeping wary eyes on Kairen's every move.
Kairen lightly tapped Shinnosuke's cheek with his silver blade, then sneered.
"Compared to those Sunagakure shinobi who died in battle, you, the great Sarutobi heir, are terrified of death."
Shimura Masao warned from the side:
"Moku Kairen, don't act recklessly! If you kill him, you'll never escape. The Anbu will hunt you for life."
Kairen turned his gaze on him.
"You're threatening me?"
The weight of Kairen's chakra pressed down.
Shimura Masao found his breathing difficult. This brat… he was already this strong?!
"...I'm not threatening you, I'm just telling you… the situation you're in!"
A pale hand suddenly landed on Kairen's shoulder.
"That's enough."
Kairen turned his head. Wearing sunglasses, Tsunade said softly,
"Let the anger out, but don't take it too far."
This woman really treated him like a child!
Kairen raised his blade from Shinnosuke's neck.
"Die!"
Shinnosuke leapt up at once, pulling a kunai from his hand.
Tsunade's fist smashed into his shoulder, sending him rolling back three, five times.
Shinnosuke climbed up again, glaring viciously at Tsunade.
"Princess Tsunade, are you opposing the Sarutobi clan?!"
Tsunade sneered.
"Do you really think your Sarutobi clan can rule over Konoha?"
Shinnosuke fell silent. In the village, there were still three shinobi no clan could shake.
The Three Legendary Sannin—the heroes who defined the Second Shinobi World War.
Only the Third Hokage could suppress their status. To use the Sarutobi clan to threaten Tsunade, one would have to invoke the Hokage as well.
"Get lost!" Tsunade said coldly.
Shinnosuke shot Kairen a venomous glare, then slowly vanished into the dark forest.
"Hmph!"
Shimura Masao snorted, leading his men away. At the exit, he left behind venomous words:
"Princess Tsunade, today's grudge, I will remember. Be careful in the future!"
Tsunade shook her chest, scoffing:
"Bloodsuckers scheming in the dark—did you think I'd fear you?"
After the Sarutobi and Shimura groups departed, Tsunade turned to Kairen. Through the dim shine of her sunglasses, she saw confusion lingering on his face.
She walked right up to him. Standing before him, she towered a whole head taller.
Kairen swallowed secretly, his gaze fixed straight ahead—on the deep valley in front of him.
Even on a cold night, he felt he could crawl in there and stay warm.
Tsunade raised her hand, lightly brushing the blood at the corner of Kairen's lips.
He was still staring at her chest, not noticing her movement.
She slipped the blood into her mouth. As a medical ninja, just by taste she could identify the components within his blood.
"This blood…!"
Tsunade's eyes flew wide, joy spreading across her face. Kairen's blood resonated with her own. Proof—he truly carried the lineage of the Senju Clan.
"Princess Tsunade…"
Kairen was baffled. Why was this woman tasting his blood? What was so delicious about it?
His yogurt drink tasted better!
Tsunade said softly,
"Clean yourself up first."
Kairen obeyed, quickly wiping away the crimson liquid on his body.
Tsunade removed her sunglasses. In an instant, the night seemed to bloom with a hundred flowers.
He thought all blessings of the world were etched upon Tsunade's face. Even Rikako, the desert beauty, could not compare.
A woman like this… any man would go mad for her.
Kairen whispered inwardly,
Kato Dan… good thing you're dead. I, Moku Kairen, will take over your place!
Seeing his dazed gaze, Tsunade smiled faintly. In that moment, it was as though flowers flourished, and the bloody night softened.
She touched her cheek, sighing inwardly. Though she had lived these past years in decadence, her beauty remained. Enough to bewilder even this brat.
Kairen shook his head, then asked her directly:
"Princess Tsunade, why are you protecting me?"
She pressed a white jade finger against his forehead.
"Because you are of the Senju Clan."
"Senju?!"
Kairen was puzzled. He was just an ordinary civilian. His father was nothing more than a regular chūnin. How did he end up connected to the Senju of the Forest?
A flash of lightning struck across his mind!
To others, Kairen was always a peculiar civilian genin.
His chakra reserves surpassed the norm, his recovery speed was abnormal, and he wielded forbidden jutsu—Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Eight Gates Technique, and countless advanced Fire Releases…
No one believed such things could come from his own effort. Labeling him as a Senju descendant made everything make sense.
It wasn't that they were convinced he was Senju—it was that they couldn't imagine his talent otherwise, so they filled in the blanks themselves.
An ordinary civilian this powerful? Then he must be the Sage of Six Paths reborn, or Uchiha Madara's ghost!
And Tsunade herself had confirmed it. By tasting his blood, she had verified he carried Senju genetic traits.
When Kairen upgraded his Special Jōnin template, he had fused with the Senju Clan Sage Body. Of course his body carried Senju blood.
Not only that, he also had traces of the Hyūga Clan's blood, though less, concentrated mainly in the optic nerves of his eyes.
Never underestimate people's imagination. Even his Nine-Tails chakra—surely many had already convinced themselves of an Uzumaki Mito connection, whether as her direct or collateral descendant.
As long as his blood carried Uzumaki traits, that was enough.
...
The chapter for 100 Power stones. Thank you so much