The duel between the two ended just like that. Everyone left still eager for more, and the battle quickly became the talk of the village for over a week.
Tsunade had won a staggering twelve million ryo — she had never experienced such a thrilling victory before. Naturally, she was overjoyed. That sum was equivalent to the reward from several S-rank missions.
Hinata Haruki had also won 420,000 ryo and was elated beyond words. That was the equivalent of multiple A-rank missions or even a single S-rank mission's pay. At least now, he wouldn't have to worry about money when opening his clinic in the future.
Kato Dan also benefited, winning 180,000 ryo with a faint smile. He didn't care much about money, but Tsunade winning was the real reason for his happiness.
On the other hand, Shigeki was feeling a bit down. He had spent 5,000 ryo betting on Minato but lost everything. Of course, the poorest off were the few shinobi running the betting — they'd be eating gruel for months.
Since Tsunade was so happy, she naturally insisted on treating everyone to a meal. Hinata was also happy to prepare a few of his hometown's signature dishes. Everyone came except Saburo Hatake, who had to attend to some unit affairs. Minato and Shigeki were among the guests.
Dai-za was the first to arrive and ate happily, much to Shika's amusement. After tasting Hinata's cooking, even Minato and Shigeki gave him thumbs up. Especially Shigeki — the way he ate looked just like Naruto enjoying ramen.
Tsunade was full of praise for Hinata's spicy chicken dish. She thought taking him on as her student was definitely worth it — she'd have plenty of delicious food ahead.
When most of the food was gone, everyone settled into chatting.
"Hehe, Hinata, it feels like you've gotten stronger again," Mizuki said with a smile, impressed by Hinata's performance today.
"Heh, Mizuki-neesan, the Senju clan techniques are secret — Orochimaru-sama told me not to teach them. But my own original moves aren't restricted. Once I perfect them, I'll teach you all," Hinata replied with a grin.
Hinata had been progressing rapidly lately. One reason was having the right direction and diligent practice; another was guidance from the clan elder. Most importantly, he had recently awakened the Sage's Body, accelerating his growth.
"Hmm!" Mizuki nodded firmly. She also wanted to grow stronger — she couldn't always rely on Hinata to protect her. Unfortunately, her branch family status limited her from learning the Senju's secret techniques. But Hinata's original moves packed a punch, and she was eager to train too, hoping one day to protect Hinata and those she loved.
"Hinata, how do you perform that 'Spinning Heavenly Return' technique?" Shigeki asked.
"It's mainly about explosively releasing chakra from all the body's pressure points at a certain angle, pushing myself to spin," Hinata explained simply. He had been practicing new Body Flicker Techniques and was researching ways to burst chakra throughout the body.
"To reach that level means your chakra control is extremely precise," Minato nodded in approval.
"Heh, I practice chakra control every day," Hinata said proudly. It had taken him three full years to reach this point.
"Hinata, during today's spar, I noticed your chakra looked different from before. It used to be pale blue, but today it seemed pale green — more vibrant," Kato Dan suddenly asked.
"Uh… I feel it's a little different myself," Hinata answered awkwardly. He couldn't just say he had awakened the Sage's Body.
"That's no surprise — Hinata is from the Senju clan, after all. As he grows, changes in chakra are natural. Senju chakra tends to be pale green, full of life," Tsunade explained calmly.
"Oh, that makes sense," Kato Dan nodded thoughtfully.
"By the way, Hinata, I heard you got injured recently — what happened?" Shigeki asked, curious.
Hinata briefly recounted how he had fallen into a cave. Both Shigeki and Minato listened, their expressions tense.
"Minato, Shigeki, have you ever encountered truly dangerous situations?" Hinata cautiously asked.
"When I was with Jiraiya-sama's team, I didn't face anything especially dangerous. But after becoming a Chunin, I did a few solo missions — once, fighting five Chunin alone was pretty risky," Minato recalled.
"As for me, I usually had ANBU squads protecting me, and Orochimaru-sensei was very considerate. I've never really been in danger," Shigeki said after thinking for a moment.
"Given how reckless you are, I bet you've fallen into traps, right?" Hinata teased, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.
"Traps? Well, stepping into a pit that Orochimaru-sama had dug while trying to grab the bell counts, right? Nothing else," Shigeki replied thoughtfully.
Hinata fell into deep thought: Shigeki never even fell into a trap? In the original timeline, Shigeki died because of a trap, blown up by a tag bomb. When his body was found, his internal organs had been removed. Even if he had been rescued after stepping into a trap by Orochimaru or the ANBU, that would be understandable. But that it never happened here? That's odd.
What's going on? Could this world differ slightly from the original Naruto timeline? Or is something affecting Shigeki's fate?
"Hey! Daydreaming again?" Shigeki waved at Hinata.
Hinata snapped out of it and asked again, "Nothing, Shigeki, do any direct Senju descendants remain?"
"Well… in our generation, only my sister and I remain, and you count too. The others either left Konoha or are distantly related, more like normal people now. Some changed surnames and merged with other families. The Senju have long since blended into Konoha..." Shigeki said with a hint of sadness. Compared to the Uchiha, the Senju had indeed declined. That was part of why Shigeki wanted to become Hokage — to revive the Senju clan.
Hinata thought, The Uzumaki clan is the same — hardly any surviving members. If it's no coincidence, then the Senju and Uzumaki have become targets. Who would hate the descendants of Ashura Otsutsuki so much? Maybe certain Uchiha, like Madara or Black Zetsu! But it could also be because the Senju sacrificed much to serve the village, mostly blending in and declining. Meanwhile, the Uzumaki, due to their powerful sealing techniques, were envied and thus destroyed.
"Enough about that. Let's talk about something else. Shigeki, what's your specialty jutsu?" Hinata changed the subject.
"Me? Water Release and Earth Release. I've been learning my great-grandfather's water techniques, and maybe someday I'll inherit my grandfather's Wood Release!" Shigeki said proudly, lifting his head.
"Minato-senpai, how about you?" Hinata asked.
"Me? Wind Release mostly, and a bit of Fire Release," Minato answered.
"Hm, similar to Naruto, huh," Hinata thought, then admired, "Minato-senpai, your Body Flicker speed is incredible."
"I modified the standard Body Flicker Technique by infusing it with Wind Release chakra — since Wind is my strongest element," Minato explained.
He shared the details with Hinata, which greatly inspired him and helped improve his own Body Flicker.
…
After dinner, everyone prepared to leave. Whenever they glanced at Dai-za, everyone secretly smiled. Dai-za looked confused and asked Shika, "Shika, why is everyone laughing at me?"
Shika struggled to hold back a laugh and said, "Dai-za, the answer is on your chin! You've still got a grain of rice there!"
"Huh? Oh, that's right," Dai-za blushed. The grain had been hanging on his chin the entire time.
"Hmm? The answer is on myself…" Hearing Shika's casual remark made Hinata pause.
After bidding everyone goodbye, Hinata returned to his room, still pondering Shika's words.
"The answer is on myself… on myself!" Hinata repeated. Doubts about why Shigeki hadn't died flashed through his mind: Shigeki never fell into traps, his organs were never removed, the decline of the Senju and Uzumaki clans, his own Senju bloodline, the connection between Tsunade and Kato Dan…
Suddenly, a possibility struck him.
"Could it be… the butterfly effect!" Hinata said aloud. "Shigeki survived because of me! My wings fluttering changed Shigeki's fate!"
"Shigeki's organs being removed after death showed someone wanted to study the Senju body and had targeted him long ago. So his death by trap wasn't an accident, but a planned murder disguised as an accident. Killing Shigeki would end the Senju bloodline and allow studying his corpse. If someone has been secretly persecuting the Senju and Uzumaki clans, this fits perfectly."
"Now, if Shigeki's death was murder, why is he alive now? One reason might be because I, Hinata Haruki, am still alive! The original Hinata should have died at age four, but because I traveled through time, I live on — and I also carry Senju blood."
"When I first received the Caged Bird Curse Seal at age two, something abnormal happened — my body resisted the seal. That's probably when the mastermind noticed me. My abilities attracted more attention than Shigeki's, who had ANBU protection and no special powers."
"Of course, the mastermind may have held off on targeting Shigeki to avoid exposure, to keep Konoha unaware, and to strengthen protection for Senju descendants. Shigeki might not have seemed valuable, so they waited until I grew older to move on me."
"Because Shigeki survived, Tsunade never proposed the plan at the Konoha Jonin Council to assign a medic ninja to each squad — or if she did, the Third Hokage vetoed it, and she was less impulsive about it."
"Kato Dan never got the chance to confess, and with his sister already deceased, he never had much interaction with Tsunade's brother Shigeki. So Kato only confessed to their master near the end of his life!"
"If my theory is correct, who would want Shigeki dead? First, Orochimaru might have betrayed the village and wanted Shigeki for human experiments."
"Second, Danzo coveted the First Hokage's power and even transplanted Hashirama's cells; he could be involved."
"Third, other ninja villages have long coveted Wood Release and Senju power."
"Fourth, most likely, the still-alive Uchiha Madara wants to study Shigeki to conquer and control the Hashirama cells in his own body."
"Fifth, Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows wants to kill Ashura Otsutsuki's descendants to ease reviving Kaguya…"
"All these have motive and power to do this."
Sigh, Hinata thought, "If this is true, then I'm already being watched — and the watchers are no joke, any one of them is a boss-level threat."
He looked up at the night sky outside his window. The moon was hidden behind dark clouds, and the night felt gloomy.
"I guess I have to grow stronger, and faster!"