"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 149: The Light of an Era
"Too fast—faster than even Lord Tobirama at his quickest."
"Indeed, Yūshin-sama truly lives up to his reputation. His strength is astounding."
Yūshin's little game left everyone amazed. Since no one could claim the prize, the game ended quickly.
It was just a small game, after all. Though everyone felt a chill in their hearts due to ninja instincts when witnessing such ghostly speed, the feeling didn't last long—they soon realized Yūshin was one of their own. So their final emotional response was either amazement or praise.
Those with clear consciences were naturally happy about their ally's strength.
As for Senju Tobirama, who had unknowingly become a stepping stone, he could only suffer in silence... Of course, he was currently much faster than Yūshin—no matter how fast Yūshin was, he couldn't outpace space-time ninjutsu.
However, Tobirama kept this little secret in his heart, saving it for when he needed to achieve a surprise victory... He could tell his brother, but not his father.
Never mind—stepping stone it was. Small patience prevents great chaos.
Among everyone present, Tobirama was the second most miserable. Not only did he have to work during his brother's wedding, handling security and preventing enemy attacks, but he also had to suffer mental trauma.
He was clearly the fastest, but he couldn't say so.
As for who was more miserable than Tobirama—that would be Senju Butsuma... Unfortunately, he happened to be among those with guilty consciences.
Since Tobirama's secrecy work was excellent, even Senju Butsuma believed Yūshin's speed surpassed Tobirama's. This meant that even if he planned some underhanded moves, it would be very difficult to keep Yūshin here.
Senju Butsuma had run many scenarios in his mind. The best outcome would be capturing Yūshin alive and controlling him, because the great Senju clan leader believed the Fireflies organization was excellent cannon fodder—he could indirectly control this organization by controlling Yūshin, then use their blood to pave the way for the Senju.
A more realistic outcome would be directly eliminating Yūshin. Though this would make the Senju and Fireflies enemies, the Fireflies weren't formidable to begin with. Solving future troubles early and ending his two sons' unrealistic fantasies was also an acceptable situation.
Unfortunately, Yūshin's displayed strength made all of Senju Butsuma's mental constructs come to nothing. If he couldn't even detain him, talking about anything else was unrealistic.
Senju Butsuma instantly calmed down. His old friend Tajima was watching from above—he wasn't stupid enough to attempt something he knew was impossible.
Yūshin returned to his seat. Just as Tobirama hid his Flying Thunder God, he actually didn't want to expose his strength either, but he had no choice—he had to prevent a "smashing cups as signal" scenario.
If someone acted irrationally, to avoid worse outcomes, he had to find ways to make them rational... Yūshin felt his sacrifice was quite significant.
Senju Butsuma was already half-buried, yet Yūshin still had to drag him along like caring for a child.
However, speed was a type of hard power—once ordinary people witnessed it, it was very difficult to defend against.
Yūshin's speed was indeed far superior to before. Previously, he was only steam-engine driven; now he'd switched to new energy.
Actually, he could be even faster by combining steam power with new energy, but under normal circumstances, it wasn't necessary.
Diminishing marginal returns kicked in too quickly. Using two Kekkei Genkai simultaneously would waste massive amounts of chakra, while the resulting speed increase would be minimal.
"Could you see who shouted for me to go behind Butsuma?" After sitting back down, Yūshin asked Nara Hideyuki.
Hideyuki shook his head: "Too many people, too chaotic a scene—I didn't notice."
Yūshin nodded: "Indeed... No matter, I was just asking casually."
He was only curious about who had created this "stroke of genius." Even if he hadn't gone behind Senju Butsuma, the man would have fully recognized certain facts—just without such obvious shock and impact.
For the current Senju Butsuma, Yūshin's impression was definitely deeper than his son's silly grin during the wedding.
During his son's wedding, he could still experience different kinds of excitement—Senju Butsuma was truly winning twice.
After Yūshin's interlude, the scene became even livelier.
Some Senju troublemaker brought the congratulatory gifts prepared by guests to the venue for display, with Yūshin's gold brick naturally placed in the most prominent position.
Uzumaki Mito, who had experienced grand occasions and maintained a dignified, balanced temperament, couldn't help but blush and lower her head after seeing the abstract artwork on the gold brick... Damn, the "artistic achievement" was too high.
It wasn't that she couldn't handle such images, but rather their implications... Early marriage and early pregnancy, right?
After lunch and a lively afternoon, the more relaxed and less noisy evening banquet began.
Yūshin was able to communicate with important guests from other ninja clans.
Chatting with Sarutobi Sasuke to further strengthen their relationship; meeting the Hyūga Clan leader to discuss the current Shinobi World situation; casual conversations with young Senju ninja, inviting them to visit Fireflies Village...
He was incredibly busy, and though he personally didn't enjoy such social activities and knew their effects were quite limited, limited didn't mean useless. The establishment, deepening, and solidification of relationships happened through such incremental interactions.
During each exchange, Yūshin would subtly mention Fireflies Village's relationship with the daimyo. The words were simple but definitely memorable.
"Your military budget amounts to... the ratio is..."
"Ah, I see, different from ours."
"Ours? Our ratio is... amount is..."
After finishing, the other person's face would be full of "Holy shit," their envy impossible to hide, their eyes seeming to say, "Why don't we have such a foolish... such a wise daimyo?"
Finally, Yūshin encountered Uzumaki Ashina, the Uzumaki clan leader.
"Ashina-sama, regarding the barrier arrangement for Fireflies Village last time, I'm truly grateful for the help you and the Uzumaki Clan provided."
Since they'd had previous interactions, the conversation topics flowed easily.
"No need for thanks. I very much agree with your ideals. After hearing about your battlefield actions of indiscriminately rescuing allied ninja, I knew Yūshin-sama leads an organization full of hope."
See? This created natural back-and-forth.
After more mutual flattery, Yūshin tentatively asked:
"Ashina-sama, does the Uzumaki Clan plan to draw closer to the Senju Clan?"
The question was somewhat abrupt, since their relationship hadn't reached that level, but unexpectedly, Uzumaki Ashina's answer was very honest.
He looked around, confirming no one was paying attention, then lowered his voice:
"Not the current Senju."
The two men looked at each other, then both smiled with "great minds think alike" expressions.
The Uzumaki woman was marrying Hashirama, not Butsuma—so this clan leader wasn't in a hurry.
After Yūshin left, Uzumaki Mito came to the old clan leader's side.
"Just as Sister Ruri said, this Yūshin-sama's chakra is very special—it easily makes people feel close."
"Chakra isn't important; brains are important."
Uzumaki Ashina said with a chuckle, but after laughing, he realized something was wrong.
"Wait, why are you still here? Can't you find your post?"
"..."
No matter what, she had night duty tonight.
Finally, Yūshin found Senju Tobirama.
"Tobirama, do you have a solution?"
"No, unsolvable."
Senju Tobirama knew what Yūshin was asking about, but he couldn't give an answer... There truly was no solution.
"Were you the one causing trouble at noon?"
"What?"
Tobirama seemed to know nothing.
Fine, Yūshin simply started teasing him.
"I mean, do you have a way to eavesdrop on your brother? What did you think I was asking? You don't even have a solution for this?"
Tobirama: "..."
"Go away, go, go, go. I've been very busy these past two days. What if external enemies attack?"
Senju Tobirama had indeed been exhausted from running around these past two days. Besides, he wouldn't do such outrageous things anyway—unless he wanted excitement and to test what it felt like to be beaten by Wood Release.
After one night, the next morning.
Yūshin and other guests departed in a harmonious atmosphere, with no incidents occurring.
"Seems my clever strategy resolved a crisis. Otherwise, there might not have been problems during the wedding itself, but who knows what would have happened afterward... For instance, on our return journey—that would be the perfect opportunity."
Though Yūshin had just left the Senju village, he knew the return journey would definitely be smooth.
"Yūshin-sama, was it really your wisdom that worked?"
Since Hatake Sakumo and Lan were both quiet types, only Nara Hideyuki could serve as the straight man.
In his view, Yūshin-sama hadn't used wisdom to resolve the crisis—he'd clearly used strength to intimidate the opposition... There was no helping it; Yūshin was too good at pressuring stubborn middle-aged and elderly conservatives.
"Definitely wisdom. Winning without fighting is the highest good."
Did Yūshin fight anyone? No. Since he didn't fight, it was the power of wisdom, not physical force.
They returned to Fireflies Village without incident, but certain changes were just beginning.
Large events like weddings were prone to slip-ups and exposed weaknesses. In many stories, wedding venues often became scenes of bloody vengeance.
Though Senju Hashirama's wedding seemed to land smoothly, it ultimately brought some changes.
First, the newly married Senju Hashirama couldn't possibly go on missions the day after his wedding. By all reason and logic, he needed to work diligently for a while—this was the important responsibility of continuing the Senju Clan bloodline, not to be taken lightly.
Second, Senju Tobirama, who had been responsible for security work before and after, constantly tense and worried about Uchiha attacks, also needed several days of rest. Though he wasn't the one getting married, his body was more drained than the groom's... Who could he complain to?
Third, after the wedding, for various unspeakable reasons, Senju Butsuma was in a terrible mood. He had a ball of anger in his belly and an urge to vent in his heart.
War wouldn't stop for one person's celebrations or mourning, even if that person was the God of Shinobi.
With both sons temporarily away from their posts, the battlefield responsibility fell to Senju Butsuma.
Butsuma didn't think there was any problem—he'd been fighting and killing for decades, long accustomed to blood and slaughter. Saying "going to battle is like going home" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Leading a four-man squad, he was patrolling a frequently contested area. Ahead was the Uchiha Clan's invasion direction, making this their interception point.
"Clan leader, enemies spotted."
"How many?"
"About the same as us."
"Pursue."
After receiving intelligence from the squad's reconnaissance ninja, Senju Butsuma immediately decided to give chase, just like always.
And the pursued party...
"Lord Nameless, the Senju Clan people are chasing us."
Someone in the group reported to "Uchiha patriot" Lord Nameless.
"Ignore them. Rescuing our own people is what we should be doing."
Just one squad of Senju ninja—Uchiha Sasuke paid no attention.
That ninja hesitated, then finally spoke:
"Lord Nameless, I think we'd better eliminate them. It would benefit all Uchiha."
This made Sasuke stop. He stood still and asked the ninja:
"You recognize the people behind us?"
"I can identify that chakra signature. If I'm not mistaken, it belongs to Senju Butsuma, the Senju Clan leader... Due to his hostility and cruel methods, countless Uchiha ninja have died at his hands over the past decade."
Senju Butsuma was just a nobody to Sasuke, nowhere near important enough to compare with Senju Tobirama... Since he was just a nobody, killing or not killing him made little difference.
But since other Uchiha hated this person so much, eliminating him seemed appropriate.
"Lord Nameless..."
"Fine, we'll meet them head-on."
These Uchiha ninja seemed to trust Sasuke's strength completely, just as they once trusted Uchiha Madara.
Sasuke seemed to have undergone certain changes, though others found them hard to perceive.
So both sides changed from the chase-and-flee situation to moving toward each other, and they soon saw one another.
"Indeed, Uchiha ninja."
The opposition was neither Uchiha Madara nor Uchiha Izuna—Senju Butsuma had no reason to avoid them... In the past, there was also Tajima, Butsuma's lifelong opponent.
The Senju clan leader facing unknown Uchiha—what more was there to say?
Hm? Something was off.
After both sides closed the distance, Butsuma suddenly felt the opposing ninja seemed different... Was this a purebred Uchiha? Why did he have horns on his head?
"Clan leader, this person's chakra has prob—"
However, before the reconnaissance ninja could finish speaking, an intense white light obscured their vision. They only felt their ears ringing and brains trembling.
It was like having a flashbang stuffed in their mouths, then detonating...
Sasuke closed his eyes, moving solely through Sage Mode perception.
Or perhaps he didn't even need to get close to enemies, because at this moment, this land seemed to instantly gain life and come alive.
White light—all white light.
For Senju Butsuma, who saw the battlefield as home, at this moment, he seemed to see his eternal home.
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