To make a good impression on his new ally, Uchiha Yorin gritted his teeth and shook hands with Tsunade—who'd used Monster Strength—for a full minute.
Anyway, she'd be the one spending chakra to patch him up afterwards—what was there to fear?
"Phew… but seriously, Tsunade-nee, that grip's a bit much."
Yorin swung his arm in exaggerated fashion. When they weren't close he called her "Tsunade-sensei"; now that they were, it was "Sis." Latching onto the vibe—Yorin was good at that.
She knew he was faking it, but the look still made her chuckle—and feel a twinge of guilt. She was about to drop a palm-healing on him and ask how exactly he intended to "revive the Senju."
That guilt evaporated in a heartbeat. The moment Yorin let his chakra flow show Monster Strength, all she felt was shock—and annoyance.
"This technique is unexpectedly strong. At least fivefold output—you could split a seam with one cut." Yorin mused.
"But stacking it on Lightning Armor ramps up control precision—tricky. If I pull it off though…
"Hey—hey, Tsunade-nee—hands off. You were going for my ear just now, weren't you?"
Konoha's top Body Flicker user, caught by Tsunade? Of course he wasn't—he slipped it.
"Hold it, brat—how'd you learn that?" Tsunade ignored the honorific and went straight to the point.
The "Forest Senju" aren't a kekkei genkai clan—they're a secret-arts clan.
Despite the "Forest" nickname, the only Wood Release user was the First.
What kept the Senju competitive were chakra-burst arts like Monster Strength, and the bountiful Yang Release inherited from the Sage—granting vitality and massive chakra.
Now Uchiha Yorin had learned the Senju's locked-box technique—how could Tsunade not be alarmed?
"Is your Sharingan really this unreasonable? Isn't it enough you Uchiha already have those eyes?!"
Her arm hooked around his neck—supremely soft and supremely threatening at once. One wrong answer and snap—she'd twist, and he'd be GG.
"Totally normal—very normal. We Uchiha and you Senju are relatives, after all. So us learning Senju Monster Strength after working hard—totally normal, right?"
"What nonsense?"
Tsunade blinked. Ask ten people who the Senju's "relatives" are—nine say "Uzumaki," one says "don't know." Now this Uchiha says they're kin, too?
Never heard that one before.
"That just means you lost too many records in the wars." Yorin wagged a finger. "The Uchiha have always recorded—history, lore—call us the ninja world's first family of letters."
"Oh? And?"
"So—the Sage of Six Paths. Our Uchiha and your Senju are both his direct bloodlines—the descendants of his two sons, Indra and Asura.
"Indra inherited the Sage's Yin, so the Uchiha gained the strongest eye of spirit and illusion—the Sharingan.
"Asura inherited his Yang, so the Senju gained the strongest bodies in the ninja world.
"So, Tsunade-nee—we're not outsiders. We're real kin. Treat me like a kid brother if you want—hey, disagree if you must, but why the punches?"
Yorin ate the Monster Strength punch head-on and protested loudly.
Tsunade: "Even if that's true, the Sage's era is way too far gone to count!"
She drew back her fist and spoke more levelly.
"Time's distance is good—it proves it's been true since ancient times," Yorin said. "If Uchiha and Senju cooperate, many will object. We can't just say we're in it for power and money, right? We need upright reasons."
"Sounds… reasonable—no, you still haven't said how you learned that move! You don't just see it once with a Sharingan and copy it!"
Her gaze sharpened. If she learned Yorin was a snake coveting Senju secret arts, there'd be no alliance to discuss.
"Hard work." What Yorin said next left the Senju princess blinking:
"I'm not like most Uchiha—my genjutsu and ninjutsu are average. I had to grind my body, sharpen my taijutsu, just to keep up with the prodigies."
He added a half-true, half-false layer:
"You know this, Sis—building the body ties to Yang. And for Yang, the strongest is the Senju.
"Once I confirmed, from old records, that Uchiha and Senju are related, I wondered: did the Uchiha inherit some of the Sage's Yang, too?
"Not much—just a bit. If so, could I use that bit of Yang to replicate Senju traits?"
Hearing that, Tsunade's tone softened. "So the result of your 'experiments' is…"
"You've seen it." Yorin smiled lightly. "I succeeded. It also proves the records are right—Uchiha and Senju are kin.
"So we should stand together—restore what we've lost.
"That's my dream, Tsunade-nee. If our clans each inherited part of the Sage's nature—then together we can recreate his glory!
"Like Hashirama-sama, we can bring the ninja world a new era of peace. Go further, and we might even surpass him—make peace permanent!"
He revealed a slice of his plan—a proof that he could change the world.
This time, much of Tsunade's doubt and suspicion melted.
She still couldn't tell if Yorin was "red" or "black," but at least she knew his plan wasn't fantasy.
Although—
It was a lie.
Monster Strength wasn't the fruit of grinding Yang Release.
It was a gift from the Senju Revival System.
~~~
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