A hooded figure entered an underground lair and reached an office.
"Lord Danzo, Lady Tsunade has arrived in the Leaf Village."
This piqued Danzo Shumura's interest. He thought, 'So she is here; it must be because of that healing seal that Dan Hamura has created.'
He was still upset about the seal. Dan strictly forbade any sale of his seals to the Root ninjas. He was planning how to get his hands on a healing seal. He knew that even if he got the seal, it would be encrypted but would still be useful.
He knew Hiruzen was protecting him, so he did not even bother demanding anything from him when it came to Dan Hamura.
The Root ANBU continue, "Both of them are with Dr. Yuki Sarutobi, Dan and Ryu Hamura."
Danzo remained unaffected by the news, as he had already guessed it pretty much considering the relationship between Yuki and Tsunade.
The Anbu then said, "One person also came in contact with them."
"Who else?" Danzo asked.
The Anbu continued, "The first son of the Fire Daimyo and his younger sister met with Lady Tsunade at Hamura's residence."
Danzo was stunned. He thought, 'It must be because of the poisoned daughter. They must be looking for Tsunade and followed her there.'
The Fire Daimyo and his family were someone he could not touch. A variable he cannot control is our influence, even more uncontrollable than Tsunade. And he does not like such variables. Scheming with such dangerous variables would most likely spill trouble his way.
Danzo asked, "Did you find out what was discussed at Hamura's residence?"
The Root ANBU replied, "No, I could not. I followed them from the hospital, but I was soon found by the guards of the young fire lord. They recognised that I belonged to Root and let me go after a warning to stay away.
Even the Hokage's ANBU had not noticed me, but they noticed me as soon as I started following them. They were better than most ANBU."
Danzo replied, "Of course they were; most of them are Elite Jonin. Regular Chunin or even a Jonin from ANBU don't stand a chance against them."
Danzo thought, 'It's troublesome. If his grandson caught the attention of the Fire Daimyo, then I would not be able to touch him. The chatter about his world-changing invention is already getting on my nerves, and now this.'
Danzo then looked at his subordinate and warned, "Don't try to tail him till further notice. And do not keep watch on the company as well. And relay this message to others sharing this mission with you."
"Yes, Lord Danzo," the ANBU subordinate replied.
Danzo thought, "I need to tread cautiously. I cannot lose favour of the Fire Daimyo. My root only exists because he allowed me."
Danzo was planning to tread lightly, but Ikkyu guards had already informed him about the Root's ANBU following Ryu and discreetly keeping a watch over him.
In a private guest house that belongs to the Fire Daimyo. The guards were briefing Ikkyu about everything going on. Their information-gathering abilities were top-notch. They even had many secret jutsu of their own.
Ikkyu said, "So Root is also interested in Ryu. He is not even a fully fledged ninja yet. Now I am even more interested in him."
Ikkyu thought, "I called him my friend; I should put my word in high regard and look after him."
He looked at his guard and said, "It is a good thing you warned the Root ninja. If you see any more of the Ninja tailing him, warn them again and tell them that the boy is under my protection."
The guards nodded and asked, "What about the Hokage's ANBU? They are also keeping a watch over him. Even the boy's secretary is a ninja from the Hokage's ANBU. They are always circling his house."
Ikkyu thought for a few seconds and replied, "The way you said they are operating around Ryu's house, they are not spying on him but protecting him. Do not confront them; I will talk to Lord Hokage tomorrow."
The next morning, Ryu was waiting for Tsunade. She had declared that she would teach him the Senju clan's special taijutsu. He did not follow his daily morning training regime and only did stretching.
Ryu thought, 'Tsunade is a well-respected medical ninja and a legendary sannin. Even if she does not have any flasher ninjutsu like Orochimaru or senjutsu like Jiraiya, she is still very strong. Strong enough to compete with the Fourth Raikage in a battle of pure strength.
Not to forget that the origin place of her summon slug, the Shikkotsu Forest, is ranked similarly to Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave. The best way to learn Senjutsu is from her.
I don't know why she did not learn Senjutsu from there. Orochimaru also failed to learn it and was only able to utilise it through unsafe means. So I guess learning senjutsu is not as easy as it seems. There is some kind of requirement that needs to be fulfilled.
If I make a list of people from the story that learned from Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya, Minato, and Naruto, they have something in common.
I think the First Hokage also learned from Shikkotsu Forest. There is no mention of his summoned animal. But even if it's not a slug, it has to be from Shikkotsu Forest.
Considering his brother's lack of Senjutsu and the contrast in personality. This requirement is not just about chakra amount and control. It is either about random compatibility or just fate or plot armour.
Hmmm... I will get to know when I have a chance to try my hand at senjutsu.
Let's go slow. First learn Senju-style taijutsu from Tsunade and impress her.
Slugs are not a battle-type summon like snakes or toads. But if she offers me a summoning contract, I have no reason to refuse.
I think she will try to test me first and will eventually offer me that contract if I impress her.'
Just then Tsunade reached his home. She said, "Brat, I hope you are ready. Let's go."
Both of them departed and ran in a direction. Ryu asked, "Where are we going?"
Tsunade replied, "Somewhere more private than this.
I have been told that you like to hide your skills. You wouldn't fight with full capacity in the open. So we are going to the private grounds of my clan."
Ryu said, "So we are going to fight; that was not what you said yesterday."
Tsunade replied, "I need to test your current standing before I teach you anything. Don't tell me you are scared."
Ryu replied, "I have been told you are hot-headed. Of course I would be scared after what I said to you yesterday."
Tsunade's brows twitched when Ryu called her hot-headed.
Tsunade smiled and said, "You should be more careful with words then."
"Is it too late to back out?" Ryu asked.
"Yes, it is," Tsunade replied.
They reached the Senju training ground. It was covered entirely by forest. Just expedited from a clan that is referred to as the clan of the forest.
Hiruzen and Natsurama Senju also landed on a tree nearby. Ryu immediately sensed his presence.
"Fight private, you said," Ryu responded.
Tsunade also had noticed them. She was also annoyed.
"Let me send them away," she said.
Ryu replied, "Don't bother; he already knows too much about me. And the guy next to him, if I have to guess, he belongs to the Senju clan."
"Yes, he is the current leader of the Senju Clan," Tsunade replied.
Ryu said, "Then it's fine; I want to show him what the Senju clan had lost."
She understood his intentions. Ryu was actually a Senju, and Tsunade now knows that. If his grandfather had not been outcast from the clan, he would have been a member of the Senju Clan.
Hiruzen also understood Ryu's intentions. He asked Natsurama, "Please do not reveal what you see today."
Natsurama, not sure why Hiruzen would ask him for secrecy, just nodded in affirmation.
Tsuande declared, "Ok kid, here I come," and vanished from her position.
Ryu smiled and jumped back. Tsunade drop-kicked from above just where Ryu was a moment ago.
Ryu thought, 'She is fast. Faster than what was shown in the anime. It is that she was debuffed and not represented very accurately in anime.'
Tsunade clicked her tongue and thought, 'This brat is fast for his age. He also predicted where I would be. Did his grandfather tell him about my fighting style? No, he won't. His fighting sense is good. Let's test him in close combat.'
They fought. Ryu knew of her fighting style and tried his very best to not get punched by her.
Tsunade thought, 'He is avoiding direct hits from the front and dodging instead of blocking. His decision-making is also good. He knew he could not block my attack.'
Tsunade thought, 'Let us scare him a little.'
Ryu was right in front of her; she smiled, and then she punched the ground with her superhuman strength. Ryu had sensed her gathering chakra and had noticed her punch coming. He jumped slightly before her punch landed on the ground and used both her shoulders to bounce back and landed on all fours outside the ground shattered due to the strong punch of Tsunade.
- Lightning style—Panther claws.
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