Outside a warehouse in the Senju compound within Konohagakure, Land of Fire, a boy who looked barely ten was conversing with a little girl, seemingly only five or six years old.
"Konohagakure, while called a village, is essentially a military institution under the powerful Land of Fire. But shinobis are still people; they reproduce and raise families, so they all live here with their dependents. This brings a touch of everyday life to what would otherwise be a purely military establishment.
"From a distance, our entire Leaf Village looks truly magnificent. It's located in a prosperous area of the Land of Fire, and its sheer size is such that calling it a city wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"And it hasn't been long since our Konohagakure was established. Tracing its origins, you could say it was built through the concerted efforts of the two strongest shinobi clans in the entire shinobi world, symbolizing the end of the Warring States Period and the dawn of peace.
"Speaking of these two strongest shinobi clans, one is the Uchiha clan, represented by the Sharingan, one of the Three Great Dōjutsu. They're known as the 'Fan Uchiha.'
"The other is our family, the Senju clan, renowned as the 'Senju of the Forest.' Unlike the Uchiha, we Senju don't have a flashy Kekkei Genkai ability like the Sharingan. The reason we're considered one of the two strongest clans in the shinobi world is because our clan members possess incredibly tenacious vitality and are born with exceptionally powerful chakra. We excel in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
"If you had to describe us, the Senju clan is essentially an all-rounder shinobi clan.
"Of course, these are just common perceptions. At its core, the reason both the Senju and Uchiha clans hold the title of 'strongest' is because our ancestors were 'gods.' Although the bloodline has thinned somewhat over generations, we've still inherited some peculiar traits.
"If this were in the neighboring world of One Piece, you could walk out and declare yourself a 'descendant of gods—a Celestial Dragon,' and no one would dare question it.
"So, if that's the case, wouldn't it be perfectly fine for our Senju family to claim a prime piece of land in the village as our compound? After all, the current village leader is our grandfather. As a village leader, he should at least have that much privilege, right?
"And if the village leader has some privileges, shouldn't we, his family, also have some?
"What's more, Tsunade, you were recently conferred the title of 'Hime' by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire! You're a true princess now, Tsunade! This means you're a favored child of heaven, cherished by everyone. Unsealing a warehouse door won't get you scolded, absolutely not!"
Indeed, the little girl currently being sweet-talked was the Senju clan's little princess, Tsunade, the beloved granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, who had just recently been appointed 'Hime' by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
And the one currently sweet-talking this veritable "Princess" was the protagonist of our story, also a "grandson" of the Senju clan, Senju Hibari.
The Senju clan boasts a long history and a vast family structure, but through prolonged warfare, they inevitably declined. Currently, this "strongest shinobi clan" is quite sparse in numbers.
Counting three generations up from Senju Hibari, there are no grandfathers left. The former clan head, Senju Butsuma, had already passed away before Hibari was even born, back when Konohagakure hadn't even been established. The few remaining grandfathers and grandmothers also perished in the wars. Consequently, the highest-ranking member of the Senju family is currently the incumbent clan head, Senju Hashirama.
While Tsunade is a direct descendant from Hashirama's lineage, Hibari is a descendant from the line of Butsuma's brother. In terms of main family bloodline, Hibari is indeed slightly less direct than Tsunade.
Had the stubborn old Butsuma still been the clan head, Hibari's status would have been questionable. However, the current head of the Senju clan is Hashirama, whose character and conduct are incredibly endearing and open-minded, without bothering with petty rules.
Furthermore, the Senju clan's population is dwindling. In Hibari and Tsunade's generation, there are currently only the two of them. So, what's the point of distinguishing between main and branch families?
Hibari was born a few years before Tsunade. The Warring States Period had just ended, and Konohagakure had just been established. The entire Senju clan seemed to see the dawn of a bright future, everyone seemingly ready to settle down, rest, and recuperate to expand their clan.
It was at this time that the first male child of the third generation of the Senju clan was born! Wasn't this wonderful news that excited the entire Senju clan?
Thus, Hibari was essentially born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Coupled with his "precocious" nature, he was very much loved by the clan members.
Senju Tobirama, the "Shinobi World's Fastest," essentially raised Hibari as his own child. Even the name Senju Hibari was personally given by Tobirama, which shows how highly he valued him.
However, the good times didn't last for more than a few years before Tsunade burst onto the scene. The little princess of the entire Senju family had arrived, and naturally, much of the affection Hibari received was diverted.
Of course, it's not like Hibari would resent Tsunade for this. After all, he's lived two lives; he wouldn't stoop to bickering with a little girl, especially one so cute and lovable.
But occasionally teasing and pranking Tsunade, making her take the blame for things, is something that "petty" Hibari would still do.
For instance, right now, Hibari was enticing and sweet-talking the young and naive Tsunade into removing the seal on Tobirama's warehouse so he could sneak in and observe.
Observe what, you ask? Are you kidding? Senju Tobirama! Who is that man? He's known as the "Inventor of Kinjutsu"! A man whose repertoire, aside from Water Release, is practically all Kinjutsu! Who wouldn't be interested in the warehouse where he stores all the strange jutsu he tinkers with daily?
What if he found something incredible inside?
"Hibari-nii, what's a 'neighboring world'? And what's a Celestial Dragon? What does 'descendant of gods' mean? Are our ancestors gods? Does that mean I'm a little fairy?" Tsunade asked, holding a casino chip and playfully flipping it, her eyes filled with curiosity and inquiry as she looked at Hibari.
Hibari glanced at the little girl, Tsunade, who had learned a whole lot about "gambling spirit" from Hashirama, and helplessly continued, "Yes, yes, you're a little fairy, Tsunade. Don't worry about all that other stuff. Just listen, take this sealing tag off."
"Hibari-nii, this is Ojiisan's warehouse. If we take off the sealing tag, Ojiisan will definitely sense it, and we'll be in big trouble!" Tsunade frowned, looking at Hibari and speaking with some hesitation.
Hibari looked at Tsunade, sighing with emotion. This little Tsunade was getting harder and harder to fool. She was only five or six years old, but already incredibly cunning. It seemed he'd need a new strategy in the future.
"Don't be scared. Ojiisan and Hashirama-jiisan are busy with some Five Kage Summit; they won't be back anytime soon. Just go ahead and do it. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility..." Hibari smiled, patting his chest.
"But I don't know how to undo this seal..." Tsunade tucked the chip into her small pocket, looking at the sealing tag on the warehouse with a headache.
A smile crept onto Hibari's lips. He then spoke proudly, "I've been studying this sealing tag for several days, and I've roughly figured out the principle. It uses an even number of hand signs, and the patterns are very simple. Just undo it by following the Monkey, Bird, Dog, and Boar signs in order. By releasing our Senju clan's blood, it'll be easy to break."
"Release blood? You mean I have to drip blood? That'll hurt, Hibari-nii!" Tsunade didn't mind the first part, but as soon as she heard "blood," she immediately backed down.
Seeing the little girl retreat two steps, Hibari almost burst out laughing in exasperation. This little imp was usually so mischievous, getting bumps and scrapes everywhere without ever crying out in pain, but now she was complaining about pain? Clearly, something was up!
Looking again at Tsunade's shrewd, darting eyes, Hibari immediately understood the situation. It turned out the "benefits" hadn't arrived yet!
"Did you lose all your allowance to Hashirama-jiisan again, you little rascal?" Hibari asked, half-annoyed and half-amused.
Tsunade fidgeted, picking at her fingers, and mumbled, "It was only 300 ryo. I'll definitely win it back next time..."
"Next time, huh..." Hibari murmured, a bit helpless. He then reached into his pocket, pulled out two or three silver bills, and handed them to Tsunade. "You cunning little imp, take these. This is 500 ryo. But let's get this straight first: if you take the money, then if Ojiisan finds out about today's events, the blame you need to take..."
Tsunade snatched the 500 ryo bills from Hibari's hand, deftly stuffing them into her small pocket. Then, she puffed out her little chest bravely, declaring, "Don't worry, Hibari-nii, I won't rat you out!"
Judging by the way Tsunade and Hibari were acting, it was clear this wasn't their first time pulling such a ridiculous stunt; they were clearly repeat offenders!
As the Senju clan's little princess, Tsunade's aptitude and talent were undoubtedly outstanding. Otherwise, she wouldn't have become one of the Three Sannin later on, let alone the Fifth Hokage of Konoha Village.
Hibari had already told Tsunade how to break the seal, and the little Tsunade was incredibly skilled. She took a cute little horse stance in front of the sealing tag, and a faint burst of chakra energy instantly surged around her. Then, following Hibari's instructions, with a dazzling series of hand signs and a drop of her own blood as a medium, she skillfully undid Tobirama's seal...
"All done, Hibari-nii!" Tsunade proudly clapped her tiny hands, looking at the sealing tag lying on the ground, and spoke with an air of smugness.
A smile also played on Hibari's lips. He looked at the warehouse door with immense curiosity and quietly said, "Ah, I see it... the door to knowledge is opening for me..."
Meanwhile, in a carriage belonging to a shinobi squad returning to Konohagakure, Senju Tobirama, who was speaking with the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, suddenly paused mid-sentence. Then, a helpless smile appeared on his usually stern face.
"What's wrong, Tobirama?" Hashirama asked, looking at his brother, who rarely showed such a smile.
"Nothing," Tobirama replied with a smile. "Just those two little rascals at home causing trouble again..."
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This is a translation!
This fanfic is not your typical invincible story with an overpowered MC right at the get-go. It is a normal naruto fanfic, in a normal paced, and a talented MC with a cheat that needs some exploration to fully exploits its powers.
There might be some flaws, but that's alright. I am merely picking this up since it piqued my interest, and so far, it's been a pretty solid fanfic.
Also, I don't know if its an Asian/Chinese thing, but the MC here calls his granduncles, like Tobirama and Hashirama, as grandfather. That might makes sense with Tobirama since he raised the MC, but for Hashirama... that, I don't understand.
I've asked some of my asian friends, and they said "grandpa-level" people can be called grandfather no matter if they were blood-related or not. It's their way of showing respect.
Or it might just be because the Senju clan are few which makes them very close and treats others' children as grandson and granddaughter, or son and daughter.