Hiruzen moved far quicker than Senju Yukika had anticipated.
In just a single night, it seemed like the entire village of Konoha had learned of Yukika's agreement with the Hokage—an evaluation to be held in half a month's time.
What's more, Hiruzen publicly announced that he would be inviting numerous shinobi to observe the assessment, essentially turning it into a public event.
It was a not-so-subtle message to Yukika: there would be no backing out. And more importantly, it would serve as a way to silence Uzumaki Mito.
If Yukika lost, he wouldn't be able to fulfill the conditions needed to become the clan leader in the near future. Without officially becoming the clan head, he wouldn't be able to declare the revival of the Senju name.
It was a gamble—one that seemed fair on the surface.
But anyone with eyes could see the truth: the Third Hokage had no intention of letting Yukika graduate. It was almost guaranteed he would manipulate the assessment behind the scenes.
The real question in everyone's mind was: how?
Everyone knew Yukika was just a ten-year-old child. Yes, he was top of his class at the Ninja Academy, but even if he maximized everything he learned there, at best he'd be an inexperienced genin.
So how would the Hokage create a challenge that looked fair, preserved his own reputation, but still ensured Yukika failed?
That was what everyone wanted to know.
But there was another question too: what gave that boy the nerve to challenge the Hokage's authority so openly?
Just because he was a direct descendant of the Senju?
Even if he was a genius, so what? Genius without maturity was still weakness.
Many people began to worry for Yukika's future.
He was too bold. Too impatient.
If he had waited until after he officially graduated to declare the revival of the Senju name, not even the Hokage could've done anything to stop him.
But instead…
Young and reckless. It was understandable, but also dangerous.
It looked like he was throwing away his future.
—
The mood in Konoha was tense. Gossip spread like wildfire.
But none of it affected Yukika in the slightest.
After a full night of intensive training, he returned to the Senju compound at dawn.
And today, the person he had been waiting for was finally there.
"You're back?"
In the courtyard, Uzumaki Mito had woken up early.
She was watering flowers with a kettle in her hand, quietly tending to the garden.
Old age had changed her. She had grown fond of simple things—flowers, trees, the gentle rhythm of life. Watching new buds sprout and leaves unfurl gave her comfort.
But in these quiet moments of observation, she also felt the slow march of her own decline.
Mito knew.
She didn't have much time left.
She had done all she could to safeguard the legacy her husband left behind. As long as she lived, no matter how fierce the battles in the Land of Rain became, no one dared to set foot in the Land of Fire.
She was Senju Hashirama's wife—the woman known not only for her lineage but for being strong enough to suppress the Nine-Tails, or even forcibly unleash its chakra if needed.
No one wanted to provoke her before her time came.
Most people were simply waiting. Waiting for her to pass.
Yukika looked at this woman—this elder—and for once, smiled warmly in her presence.
"The weather's getting colder. Grandma Mito shouldn't be up this early."
His tone had changed.
But Mito wasn't surprised.
She knew her grandson.
She knew he was pretending.
He was trying to stir her heart, trying to awaken something that had long since quieted.
But with age, that once-burning heart had cooled. Like her hair, its vibrant color had faded with time.
In these final years, she only wanted one thing:
To protect the legacy her husband left behind.
But then—
Konoha began to change.