"I'd only ever heard the saying 'big chest, no brains' before.
I never thought I'd see someone with no chest and no brains either."
Tian CunZairo looked at the girl with an expression reserved for idiots, his gaze deliberately lingering on her not-so-impressive chest.
That sentence hit like a nuclear strike.
No woman could tolerate that kind of mockery.
"Clang!"
"Brat, I've tolerated you long enough!"
The girl drew the ninja sword from her back and pointed it straight at the masked youth opposite her, grinding her teeth in fury.
Even the best temper has limits.
"Sako!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke hurriedly grabbed her wrist. This was absolutely not the place to start a fight.
Their mission was to take away the next-generation Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. Everything had already been negotiated with the Uzumaki clan head—afterward, the clan would personally escort his granddaughter to Konoha.
Nothing could be allowed to go wrong now.
The other party was, after all, an important figure of the Senju clan. And the Senju and Uzumaki were in-laws—essentially one family.
To strike a direct Senju descendant inside UzUzushiogakure would be tantamount to slapping the Uzumaki clan in the face. The consequences would be severe.
The priority right now was securing the new Jinchūriki. Nothing else mattered.
Tian CunZairo folded his arms, utterly unconcerned by the girl's rage.
I'm a direct descendant of the Senju right now.
This is the land of the Uzumaki, our hereditary in-laws.
Do you really dare to make a move?
"You just said it yourself," Tian CunZairo continued calmly,
"that the major clans in the village don't want the Senju to produce another Hokage.
Do you really think the Sarutobi and Shimura clans would want that either?
"You major clans currently make up the village's upper echelon. You control critical departments and positions. Would you willingly give up the power and利益 already in your hands?
"And even if you would—would clans like Ino–Shika–Chō, who are already tied to you, agree?
"Based on our understanding of Sarutobi Hiruzen, he'll most likely pick a talented civilian with no backing, raise him up as the Fourth Hokage, and turn him into a puppet—just to preserve your faction's利益.
"The chances of Jiraiya or Orochimaru becoming Hokage are both higher than Tsunade-nee's.
"No—Orochimaru is too capable and too strong-willed. He'd never make a good puppet.
So it would be someone like Jiraiya… or his disciple.
"In any case, it will never be Tsunade-nee.
"If Tsunade-nee wants to take the seat, she'll have to wait until Sarutobi Hiruzen is dead.
"So tell me—when you just said Tsunade-nee would become Hokage,
was it because your brain is as flat as your chest…
or because you wanted to insult my intelligence?"
Tian CunZairo didn't bother hiding his hostility toward Sarutobi Hiruzen or the three before him.
This was the Senju clan's stance.
The Uzumaki ninja guarding the village gate were completely dumbfounded.
They hadn't expected to witness something this explosive.
And apparently, Konoha's internal situation was far more complicated than they'd imagined.
"You—!"
The girl was so furious her chest heaved violently—
ironically giving her previously unimpressive curves a bit more presence.
"Sako," Sarutobi Shinnosuke sighed, speaking in a weary tone,
"they've already settled into their beliefs. Words won't change them.
We can only let time prove their prejudice wrong."
His voice sounded resigned, but inside, killing intent surged violently toward the hateful brat opposite him.
"We're leaving!"
He said nothing more. After shooting Tian CunZairo one last cold look, he led the other two away.
Before leaving, the girl still glared venomously at Tian CunZairo, as if she wanted to flay him alive.
Tian CunZairo provocatively puffed out his chest in response.
That only made her even angrier.
If not for Sarutobi Shinnosuke dragging her away, she would've drawn her blade on the spot.
Never seen such an infuriating little demon!
Watching the three disappear, Tian CunZairo turned toward the Uzumaki ninja who had been monitoring them and voiced his displeasure:
"Why is Sarutobi Hiruzen's son allowed into UzUzushiogakure,
but we—representatives of the Senju—are stopped outside?
"What, does the Uzumaki clan think the Senju have lost the Hokage seat and want to abandon the old alliance in favor of forming new ties with the Sarutobi clan?"
Originally, he had only planned to disguise himself as Konoha ANBU to hide his true identity.
But now, he could only continue pretending to be a Senju.
"Watch your words," a middle-aged Uzumaki ninja said coldly.
"Our clan possesses extraordinary sensory abilities. We can sense chakra clearly.
"Your chakra is not Senju chakra."
That was the real reason he had stopped them.
The earlier performance had been impressive, but chakra couldn't be faked—
especially not Senju chakra.
"You really have fallen behind," Tian CunZairo replied with a disappointed tone.
"You don't even understand chakra disguise techniques anymore."
As he spoke, he connected to the Kaguya phantom, using it to simulate chakra originating from Senju Tobirama.
This was an ability he had recently developed by studying the Kaguya phantom—
very similar to White Zetsu's impersonation technique.
By devouring others' chakra, it could perfectly replicate it, making detection nearly impossible.
Because the Kaguya phantom resided in the mental world, the connection wasn't perfectly convenient, and the effect was slightly weaker—but more than sufficient to deceive sensory perception.
Sure enough, the Uzumaki ninja's expression changed instantly.
He was extremely familiar with Senju chakra. Its overwhelming vitality was unmistakable.
There was no way he could be wrong.
"My apologies," the man said after repeated confirmation.
"I failed to recognize you earlier. Please, come with me."
Since they were Senju, there was no problem.
"I'm visiting UzUzushiogakure for the first time," Tian CunZairo said as they walked inside, continuing to spin his story.
"I've long wanted to look around. I often heard Grandma Mito talk about this place."
The moment he mentioned Uzumaki Mito, the Uzumaki ninja's attitude softened noticeably.
The three Cloud ANBU exchanged stunned glances, then silently followed—
their respect for the brat Tutai had brought along rising yet again.
The kid might be weak, but he definitely had his shining points.
No wonder Lord Tutai valued him so highly.
Just like that, Tian CunZairo successfully infiltrated UzUzushiogakure.
He was even taken on a tour of the village and allowed into the Shrine of the Shinigami, where grotesque death masks lined both walls.
The three Cloud ANBU, however, were not permitted to enter such a sacred site and waited outside.
"Which branch of the Senju are you from?"
An elderly man entered the shrine, examining the boy who was studying the death masks.
"Clan Head!"
The middle-aged man who had escorted Tian CunZairo hurriedly bowed.
The newcomer was Uzumaki Masahiko, both clan head and village leader.
Masahiko waved him away. His gaze never left the boy.
He had already heard the report—including the verbal clash at the village gate.
Too much information had surfaced… and he doubted the boy's identity.
Moreover, his elder sister's letter had never mentioned sending anyone from the Senju clan.
"Strictly speaking," Tian CunZairo replied,
"I should belong to Tobirama's line."
As he spoke, he removed his mask and ran a hand through his hair.
The black hair instantly turned white, and he once again simulated Senju Tobirama's chakra.
Since he already had white hair, he might as well make full use of it.
Previously, he had used partial transformation to hide his identity.
This was an advanced application of the Transformation Technique.
Ordinarily, the jutsu altered the entire body—but with sufficient chakra control, one could transform only specific parts.
It consumed less chakra and was far harder to detect.
For example, altering only the exposed face while wearing real clothing.
"Why do you possess Tobirama's chakra?"
Uzumaki Masahiko frowned deeply as he sensed the familiar chakra.
Everyone's chakra was unique—not just in elemental nature, but on a deeper level.
Even between father and son, or brothers, chakra differed.
He was extremely familiar with Senju Tobirama's chakra.
There was no mistake.
Who… exactly is this child?
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