Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, Senju Mori maintained his usual routine.
Each day, he traveled between the Hokage's office, the Forbidden Jutsu Chamber, and the Senju clan compound, carefully managing state affairs while continuing his strict personal training regimen.
Yet, from the increasingly restless behavior of the Senju clansmen, many in the village sensed that something unusual was about to happen — as if the clan were preparing for a major event.
Combined with the cheers that had erupted days earlier within the Senju compound, many Konoha shinobi couldn't help but speculate wildly.
...
The day of the ceremony.
At dawn, Senju Mori donned a light-green montsuki haori embroidered with the Senju clan crest and, accompanied by a large number of clansmen, made his way toward the Kōga Shrine.
At the same time, Uzumaki Mito, surrounded by her handmaidens, also arrived — bringing with her the seven-year-old Tsunade.
At her young age, Tsunade still couldn't comprehend the true significance of this day's ceremony.
To her, it was simply a matter of "getting a new name," hardly something to be nervous about — yet the serious atmosphere and solemn faces around her made her heart pound.
Sensing her unease, Mito gently gathered the girl into her arms, softly whispering to comfort her.
As the widow of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and a revered elder within the clan — not to mention Tsunade's own blood relative — Mito's presence here was both necessary and symbolic.
...
The Kōga Shrine's location was nothing short of exquisite.
One side of it leaned against a lush green mountainside, where a white waterfall cascaded from a short cliff, feeding into a clear pond below.
The sound of flowing water mixed with drifting mist, giving the sacred site an air of purity and divine calm.
Through the open vermilion gates, several shrine halls could be seen nestled amid the trees, their outlines solemn and ancient.
At the waterfall stood Elder Senju Kaga, who had been waiting in advance.
Seeing Senju Mori approach, he immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Lord Mori."
Then, he took up a broad wooden ladle, scooped up some of the flowing water, and assisted Mori in performing the "Water Purification Rite" — a symbolic cleansing to wash away worldly impurities and purify both body and spirit before facing the ancestors and accepting their will.
After Mori, young Tsunade timidly stepped forward and repeated the same actions, her small hands trembling slightly.
Once the purification was complete, the gathered Senju clansmen followed as Mori led them into the main shrine grounds.
Before long, they arrived at the open-air altar where the main festival was to be held.
Around the altar, incense burners filled the air with the soft fragrance of white sandalwood.
The rising wisps of smoke gave the space an even more sacred and solemn atmosphere.
Another elder, Senju Taigo, awaited them there.
He would serve as the master of ceremonies, guiding everyone through the full ritual sequence.
The first half of the ceremony was devoted to Senju Mori's inauguration as Clan Head.
Under Taigo's direction, Mori stepped forward and offered the Three Offerings to the ancestors — rice wine, a sheaf of grain, and pure water —
symbols of reverence for the ancestral gods, a prayer for family prosperity, and respect for the purity and vitality of bloodline.
Then, Mori personally lit the incense sticks upon the altar.
The pale blue smoke spiraled upward, drifting endlessly into the sky.
At the altar's center rested three sacred items:
a wide-bladed greatsword, an ordinary-looking kunai, and a large scroll.
The greatsword was a relic once belonging to Senju Hashirama.
To signify the legitimacy of Senju Mori's succession, the Elders had specially brought out the weapon of the First Hokage.
It was a wide-bladed greatsword that Senju Hashirama had often wielded during his lifetime — a blade that had seen countless battles, including the legendary Valley of the End duel against Uchiha Madara.
If one looked closely, faint traces of scratches and scorch marks could still be seen — remnants of the countless jutsu unleashed upon it in those bygone wars.
Though this sword was not a symbolic heirloom like the Uchiha clan's War Fan, nor was it crafted from the Divine Tree's wood, its significance was extraordinary.
Another of the items upon the altar was a kunai once used by Senju Tobirama.
At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary kunai, but on one side was engraved Tobirama's personal Flying Thunder God mark—
a unique design of two concentric circles at its center, with six branching lines radiating outward from the smaller circle.
As for the final item — the scroll — it was the Senju clan genealogy, passed down through generations, chronicling the clan's ancient history, millennia of glory, and the legacy of their bloodline.
///
The ceremony proceeded in a solemn, deliberate rhythm.
Elder Senju Taigo unfurled a ceremonial script and began reciting the ancestral rites, his deep voice echoing with reverence — recounting the Senju clan's long history and praising Senju Mori's personal achievements.
Senju Mori then led the entire clan in bowing before the altar, performing a formal ancestral offering.
When the ritual concluded, Uzumaki Mito stepped forward under everyone's gaze.
She took the First Hokage's greatsword from the altar and personally presented it to Senju Mori.
Mori extended both hands and firmly grasped the hilt and scabbard of the sword.
Below the altar stood a massive wooden post, symbolizing "the enemy."
Infusing chakra into his arms, Senju Mori raised the greatsword high and brought it down in one clean, vertical slash — splitting the post in half.
Then, planting the sword in the ground beside him, he quickly formed three special hand seals.
With a clear chant, a water dragon burst forth from the waterfall outside the shrine, spiraling above the grounds before dissolving into a gentle rain that showered upon everyone.
This was the new clan head's blessing, expressed through ninjutsu in a breathtaking display.
After the performance, Mori turned back to the altar, personally lifted the family register, and accepted a brush from an elder.
On the newest page, he wrote in bold characters:
"Clan Head — Senju Mori."
He then took up the Clan Head's Seal and stamped it firmly after his name.
One elder had suggested using blood to inscribe the name, but Mori, wary of the strange and dangerous jutsu that existed throughout the shinobi world, chose instead to use ink — for caution's sake.
Thus, Senju Mori's inauguration as clan head was formally completed.
Compared to the solemnity of the first half, the "Tsunade's Return-to-Clan Ceremony" that followed felt lighter in tone.
A third elder stepped forward to publicly read Tsunade's ancestral lineage and the letters left by her parents.
Then, Uzumaki Mito took the genealogy scroll and inscribed the name:
"Senju Tsunade."
Senju Mori followed by adding the clan head's seal beside it.
With that, the ritual finally came to an end.
Mori replaced the scroll upon the altar, then raised Hashirama's greatsword high and solemnly vowed to restore the clan's prosperity.
Lastly, he lifted a ceremonial jug of sacred sake, pouring and sharing it with all his clansmen — symbolizing, under the watch of their ancestors, that the Senju would remain united as one.
When the ceremony concluded and Mori stepped out of the shrine, he did not remove the montsuki haori bearing the Senju clan crest.
Instead, he wore it naturally beneath another robe — the white Hokage mantle, which he draped casually over his shoulders.
To Senju Mori, the clan was his foundation, his true base of power.
The rise of civilian-born shinobi, in his eyes, was simply a natural evolution of the Hidden Village era.
The growth of new shinobi solely through bloodlines was far too slow;
only by bringing in the vast numbers of talented commoners could Konoha maintain its unmatched population of shinobi and preserve its dominance.
Senju Mori had no intention of resisting this trend.
Instead, he would ride its momentum — and guide it toward the future he chose.