Her blonde hair was tied into twin ponytails that fell down her back.
The door opened, and the fierce-looking Tsunade stepped into Uchiha Fugaku's view with the quiet Shizune beside her.
Fugaku had just been about to greet Tsunade properly when the woman cut straight to the point.
"Is Ren here?"
Fugaku paused for a second and let his gaze slip past Tsunade to the person behind her. Shizune gave him a small nod, quietly following at Tsunade's side, half a step behind.
Rare indeed... one of the legendary Sannin, who usually appeared and vanished like a dragon whose head one sees but never its tail, had actually come to his door on her own.
From what Fugaku knew of Tsunade, she should not have been here. She should have been at a casino gambling, or drinking away her losses in some tavern.
Without changing expression, he drew his gaze back, stepped aside, and let the two women into the entryway.
"Lady Tsunade, please wait a moment. Ren is still asleep. I'll go wake him."
"Who is it, anata?" came a gentle voice from the kitchen next to the entryway. The kitchen curtain was lifted, revealing a soft, beautiful face.
Uchiha Mikoto, an apron tied around her waist and a spatula still in hand, leaned out and looked over in surprise.
"Lady Tsunade..."
As she spoke, she quickly came out of the kitchen and bowed to Tsunade.
Only then did the famed Sannin seem to realize she might have been a little too abrupt. She stepped forward, personally helped Mikoto back up, then turned to Fugaku and apologized.
"Sorry for coming so early and disturbing you. It's just... there's something very important I want to ask that child."
"Then I'll go wake him now."
"No need... let him sleep a little longer."
Fugaku and Mikoto exchanged a glance.
Mikoto gave a gentle smile. "All right. I've just finished making breakfast, so if Lady Tsunade doesn't mind, please stay and have something simple here."
"Mikoto's cooking is excellent. Lady Tsunade, you really should try it. Please, sit." Echoing Mikoto's invitation, Fugaku gestured toward the tatami and invited Tsunade to take the seat of honor.
Tsunade thanked him and sat down with Shizune.
A moment later, Fugaku poured two cups of tea and slid them over.
Tsunade and Shizune each took a light sip.
And then, the very next second, the two women's hands trembled so badly they nearly spilled their tea when Fugaku calmly said:
"Lady Tsunade, did you come here because of Wood Release?"
Still composed, Fugaku poured himself a cup of tea as well. As he thought about why Tsunade would come all the way here looking for Roy, there seemed to be only one possible answer.
Wood Release.
There was nothing else about Roy that could possibly attract her more than that.
After all, this was Wood Release—the immensely powerful Release style that only the First Hokage had ever been able to wield.
As the First Hokage's granddaughter, it was only natural that she would be curious if the opportunity arose. And...
Fugaku's gaze darkened slightly. In that instant, he guessed the truth.
There was a very high chance that the Hokage had told her.
Somewhere unseen, it was as though a gaze was circling above the Uchiha compound.
And Fugaku's guess was correct.
After Tsunade had stormed out earlier...
Inside the round Hokage's office in the Hokage Tower, with the crystal ball flickering in front of him, Hiruzen Sarutobi had hesitated in thought for a moment before ultimately activating the Telescope Technique and projecting his sight over through chakra.
This time, however, having learned from his previous lesson, Hiruzen did not rashly approach. He merely hovered above the little courtyard and waited quietly...
And that wait lasted the whole morning...
Inside the house, in the living room, things unfolded exactly as expected.
Tsunade and Shizune both showed unusually strong emotional reactions.
None of the Sannin who had risen to prominence in Konoha, the greatest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, were fools. Jiraiya had his brilliance. Orochimaru had his own. And Tsunade—who in the original story had once taken on the burden of the village alone after Hiruzen's death and succeeded him as the Fifth Hokage—was no exception.
The woman instantly sensed that something was off in Fugaku's words.
She leaned forward, her full chest pressing lightly against the table, and looked at Fugaku with urgency.
"That child Ren... he showed you Wood Release?"
Shizune turned to look as well.
A nearly imperceptible frown touched Fugaku's brow.
From the looks of it, Tsunade didn't seem to know yet.
Had the Hokage not told her?
Thoughts turning in his mind, Fugaku stayed silent for a moment, then gave a light nod.
"The cup in front of you was made by Ren."
No matter what, now that she had come, lying would be pointless. Tsunade only had to go back and ask Hiruzen to confirm it.
So Fugaku simply told the truth.
And beyond that, he was not without another motive as well: to use Wood Release itself as a shield to protect Roy.
Because this was Wood Release—something only the First Hokage had ever been able to command. In the current ninja world, whether it was Kumogakure, Kirigakure, or Iwagakure, any village would have no choice but to treat someone like that as a strategic asset and protect them at all costs.
So Fugaku was not afraid of Tsunade knowing.
On the contrary, the more she knew, the more she would care. And the more she cared, the more closely she would watch him. The more closely she watched him, the less willing she would be to let anything happen to him.
Tsunade lowered her head and picked the cup up again.
She had not noticed it at first.
But now, as she rubbed the teacup and felt the smooth, delicate texture of its surface, it was obvious...
This had not been shaped by a file.
For a moment, the woman simply stared at it, lost in thought, and forgot to speak.
"Lady Tsunade..."
Noticing her expression, Shizune sat on her knees behind her, tightening her grip on her own teacup. She copied Tsunade and gently rubbed the wall of the cup. In that instant, she felt Tsunade's state of mind.
It was a chaotic tide of emotion, excitement and confusion intertwined, surging endlessly.
Just like Tsunade had firmly insisted to Lord Hokage back at the Hokage Tower...
"No matter who the user is, it absolutely cannot be an Uchiha."
If everything Fugaku had said was true, then that child...
Shizune could hardly imagine how bright his future might be.
So—
"The reason I came here," Tsunade finally said after what felt like a long time, as if she had at last pulled herself free from those turbulent emotions, "is because I want to see for myself whether it's real."
Hearing about something with one's ears was one thing. Seeing it with one's own eyes was another.
Looking at Fugaku frankly, Tsunade said, "Fugaku, forgive me for being so direct, but... this matters a great deal to me."
The pendant on her chest swayed slightly with the rise and fall of her breathing.
It was a keepsake left to her by her grandfather...
Fugaku lifted his tea and took a sip. He said nothing more than, "When he wakes up, Lady Tsunade can see for herself."
Creak—
At that moment, the sliding door connecting the living room to the bedroom was pushed open by a small hand from inside. Drowsy and still wearing sleep clothes, Itachi rubbed his sleepy eyes, poked his head out, and softly called:
"Father..."
Then, noticing Tsunade and Shizune seated across from Fugaku, the little boy clearly froze for a second.
Fugaku spoke to him gently.
"Go wake your brother. It's eight o'clock. He's slept long enough."
Itachi turned and went back into the bedroom, reaching out to tug on Roy's arm...
[Notice: "Life Energy" x "Power of Faith" has been completely emptied.]
[Constitution +795]
...In the Hunter world, in the Zoldyck family castle.
It was noon.
The final pillar of blood aura shot into the sky, then slowly contracted and returned completely to Roy's body.
Inside the shower room, water streamed down from the showerhead in a steady rush...
Roy faced the pain head-on and let out a muffled groan, feeling his body tear apart and reconstruct, then tear apart and reconstruct again, over and over, again and again...
Compared to last time—when he had blown apart into chunks of flesh, bits of himself scattered everywhere, and had barely managed to restore his body through [Blood-Drop Rebirth]—this time, after dividing the stat allocation into separate waves, the situation was unquestionably much better.
At the very least, he hadn't nearly blown himself up again like last time through sheer recklessness.
"Hah... hah..."
One second... two seconds... one minute... two minutes...
About five minutes later, the final trace of pain faded, and the notification sound of the panel rang in Roy's ears.
Bare-backed, the boy stretched his body. His lat muscles spread like a bird's wings. Seen from below at an angle, they completely blocked out the overhead light.
For that one instant...
it was as if the sky had gone dark.
Roy exhaled two long streams of air through his nose, then casually clenched his fist again.
Crack—
The air in his palm exploded on the spot.
Before the sound could even fully erupt, he crushed it into silence by brute force.
That absolute control over power, that ultimate understanding and mobilization of every joint, every muscle, every blood vessel in his body, filled him with an indescribable sense of exhilaration and pleasure.
Then he straightened his back. His spine stretched like a great dragon, erupting in a chain of crackling pops, savage and majestic all at once.
"Ho ho ho... tomorrow's going to be fun."
In the training room on the eastern side of the first floor of the Zoldyck castle, humanity's so-called strongest stroked his beard and laughed. His old eyes narrowed, gleaming sharply.
Beside him, white hair swayed lightly.
Zeno said nothing. He only looked over deeply and thought to himself:
That's right... this day came far too quickly.
So quickly that even now he felt dazed... almost unable to believe it. Sometimes, he even felt a little lost...
He no longer used En. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back and listened.
That crackling spine. That powerful breathing. That drumlike heartbeat. That blood aura streaming like a blazing banner...
Even if Grandfather wanted to suppress it, he absolutely would not be able to.
Creak...
In that dim little room on the first floor, after finally managing to calm Betty...
Maha was sitting there listening to cartoons, eyes closed, enjoying a brief moment of peace. After a while, he suddenly said:
"It's turning gold again..."
Whoosh—
A gust of hot wind spun through the window frame and slipped through the gap in the shower room door, stirring Roy's striking silver hair so it swayed lightly...
A strand drifted loose and reflected in the mirror.
It was visible to the naked eye:
Half of Roy's hair, from the tips up to the middle, had almost entirely transformed into gold.
The only regrettable part was this—
this round of stat allocation seemed to have produced no obvious changes in height or build.
After briefly feeling out and adjusting to his current new body, Roy opened the panel and gave it a quick glance...
[Name: Roy Zoldyck]
[Constitution: 2275.9 → 3070.9 (Note: an ordinary person = 1)]
[1. Manifest Aura Quantity: B-(680,000/1,000,000) → B(350,000/1,000,000) (Note: ratings are benchmarked against the Chimera Ants. Reference: Youpi = B(400,000/1,000,000))]
[If converted into Naruto-world terms, taking the One-Tail—Shukaku of the Sand—as reference, its chakra quantity is approximately 50 Kakashi-units. The host's current Nen quantity is approximately 40 Kakashi-units, or 0.8 Shukaku.]
[2. Latent Aura Quantity: B(540,000/1,000,000) → B(990,000/1,000,000) (Note: if Youpi is used as reference, with Youpi = B(400,000/1,000,000), this still exceeds Youpi and is infinitely close to the Ant King)]
[If converted into Naruto-world terms, taking the One-Tail—Shukaku of the Sand—as reference, its chakra quantity is approximately 50 Kakashi-units. The host's latent Nen quantity is approximately 200 Kakashi-units, or 4 Shukaku.]
[3. Nen Ability Form Change: Lv4(12,780/100,000) → Lv4(70,000/100,000) (Note: due to the explosive rise in the host's Nen values, form change has increased slightly)]
[4. Nen Ability Nature Change: Yang: Lv4(47,000/100,000) → Lv4(78,000/100,000) (Note: due to the explosive rise in the host's Nen values, Nen nature has increased slightly) Yin: Lv4(89,000/100,000) → Lv5(470/1,000,000) (Note: the Mangekyō has fully awakened and is awaiting development. The host is still one million points away from reaching Lv6, entering the next stage, and unlocking the "Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan") Fire: Lv4(1,540/100,000) → Lv4(21,000/100,000) Water: Lv3(3,517/10,000) → Lv4(5,000/100,000) Wind: Lv3(1,874/10,000) → Lv3(8,741/10,000) Earth: Lv3(387/10,000) → Lv3(6,415/10,000)]
[Rating: B (above Kite, not inferior to Neferpitou, Youpi, or Shaiapouf)]
[Evaluation: Above the first echelon, below the peak (the host has grown from a green apple sapling into a tall apple tree heavy with fruit)]
[(Note: according to mental feedback... the host fully possesses the strength to fight Silva Zoldyck)]
A faint curve lifted the corner of Roy's mouth.
He let the shower continue pouring down in thin streams, washing away the sticky grime clinging to his skin. Then, wrapping himself in a towel and drying his hair, he stepped out.
At one moment, his brow twitched slightly.
He heard a faint call drifting out from somewhere within his unconscious domain...
Roy sank his awareness inward, looking in the direction the call was coming from through the Gate of Cognition...
There was Itachi, black hair falling down behind him, gently shaking Roy's hand.
"Nii-san, wake up. We have guests at home..."
The faint breath of the little boy brushed against Roy's face, making it itch slightly.
Roy looked over in mild surprise...
He could not be bothered to continue developing his Mangekyō right now. On second thought, he might as well leave that for the dream.
The next second, he took a single step and vanished into the light.
When he reappeared, all the moisture on his body had already been steamed dry, and he was lying peacefully on the soft bed.
"Goldie, keep watch. Don't let anyone come in. I'm taking a nap..."
"Gao~"
At Roy's thought, the Golden Crow spread its wings and emerged from the crown of his head.
Its plump little body rolled onto the bed, and it stared with wide, goofy eyes...
Roy shot it a helpless glare, folded his hands over his lower abdomen, and slowly closed his eyes.
It seemed that as his constitution steadily grew stronger, his control over Nen and his understanding of it had silently risen a great deal as well.
This time, it did not take long at all.
Through deep sleep, Roy quickly captured the Gate of Cognition.
One step forward—
and he immediately passed through the brilliantly colored passage of dreams.
When he opened his eyes again, he had already crossed through the Hokage Gate and arrived in the Naruto world, slowly opening his eyes in his own bedroom in the Uchiha compound in Konoha...
"Nii-san, you're awake!"
Roy's still-hazy gaze, carrying the last of his sleepiness, landed on Itachi.
The boy paused mid-shake, still holding Roy's hand, and blurted it out.
Several gazes slowly turned toward them from beyond the half-open sliding door...
In the soft light of morning, a lazy figure stretched both arms wide in a long yawn. With a slight stir of the wind, he suddenly melted into the light—
and in the next flash, with his hair loose and a yawn still on his lips, he stepped out of the light, sat down cross-legged beside Fugaku, smiled at Tsunade, and said:
"I heard you were looking for me?"
~~~
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