Chapter 2: Senju Stelle
The Senju clan had just weathered another brutal battle. The cost was steep; countless clansmen were either dead or wounded, and a somber funeral was now underway within the clan grounds.
One by one, simple wooden coffins were lowered into freshly dug pits, their passage marked by the slow, deliberate erection of gravestones. The sheer number of the fallen cast a heavy pall over the proceedings, the air thick with the sound of suppressed weeping that even the drizzling rain could not wash away.
As droplets traced paths down his face, the tragic image of his younger brother Itama's death flashed through Senju Hashirama's mind, and fresh tears welled in his eyes. Even the man who would one day be hailed as the God of Shinobi was, for now, just a boy mourning the violent loss of a loved one.
Beside him, his younger brother, Senju Tobirama, stood expressionless throughout the entire ceremony. His posture was rigid, his face a mask of composure, and he spoke only occasionally to offer a quiet word of comfort to his elder brother.
'As expected of the future Second Hokage,'Stelle thought, observing from her place among the crowd.'So calm and restrained, even at such a young age.'
At this moment, she was fully immersed in her new persona. She was Senju Stelle, an obscure member of a branch family who had quietly passed away in her home two days prior. It was a convenient shell for her to inhabit.
The original Stelle's parents had died on the battlefield. Lacking any talent for combat, she had spent her days with her hair deliberately styled to cover half of her face, a living shadow within her own clan. She survived on the meager income from odd jobs and the clan's relief funds, a gloomy and solitary figure with no family or friends to speak of.
This background was practically tailor-made for Stelle.
The system's rewards had included a Transformation Card, which allowed her to mold her features into any appearance she desired. She had used it to take this person's place, sculpting a face that mirrored her own, a change no one would notice since the original owner's was always half-hidden.
Possessing the Sage Body and having claimed Wood Release from her system rewards, she had deliberately revealed her new ability in front of a clan elder. The old man had reacted as if he'd discovered a priceless treasure, immediately reporting the matter to the clan head, Senju Butsuma.
One had to understand that within the entire Senju clan, only Senju Hashirama had awakened the Wood Release, a sign of immense potential. Thus, Stelle had instantly become a highly sought-after talent. Senju Butsuma had arranged for her to live in the Clan Head's main house, where she could study the rare jutsu alongside Hashirama.
As for her name, she had simply told them her birth name was Stelle, claiming it represented peace and that she wished to use it. Naturally, no one cared about such a trivial matter.
After the funeral concluded, Stelle made her way back to the main house. She was just about to seek out Hashirama to wax poetic about peace and farm some emotional value when she noticed a solitary figure standing at the door to Senju Itama's now-empty room. It was Senju Tobirama, staring blankly into the space his brother once occupied.
'This is the future Second Hokage,'she mused.'Building a good relationship now will definitely be a huge help in farming mood value later.'
She changed her course and walked toward him. As she drew closer, she saw that the boy's lips were pressed into a thin, tight line. He stared stubbornly into the room, the faint glint of unshed tears shimmering in his eyes.
So, his composure at the cemetery had been a facade. He simply refused to show his vulnerability in front of others.
A realization dawned on Stelle. He was, after all, still just a boy. He hadn't yet cultivated the sharp edge or the shrewd cunning he would possess as the Second Hokage. Right now, he was just a teenager who had lost his brother.
Wasn't this the perfect chance to farm some favorability? Gratitude points were a form of mood value, after all.
But how should she approach this? Children of the Ninja World matured far too early. If she just walked over, offered a few platitudes, and said, 'You can use my shoulder, cry if you want,' would he look down on her?
'Or maybe… a fight?' she considered. They were shinobi, after all. They fought when they were unhappy, fought when they were sad. Once the pent-up frustration was vented, wouldn't he feel better? And if he did end up crying, crying because he was in pain from being hit seemed like a perfectly good excuse to hide his true feelings.
The idea solidified. She quickened her pace.
Hearing her footsteps, Tobirama immediately reined in his emotions, his face snapping back to its usual calm and restrained mask.
'This emotional control is impressive,' Stelle praised silently.
"Tobirama, right?" she began. "I have something I'd like to ask of you."
"What is it?" he asked, his voice flat. He recognized her as the clan sister who could use Wood Release, the one his father had brought into their home.
"I used to train alone, so I've never had any actual combat training with another person. I want to spar with you."
"Alright," Tobirama replied, his expression unreadable. "My father happens to want me to test your strength anyway. Let's go to the backyard."
As one of the most outstanding youths in the clan, he was no stranger to challenges from his peers, so her request didn't surprise him.
The two made their way to the training ground in the backyard. At this age, Senju Tobirama's greatest pride was his kenjutsu. He picked up the practice sword he typically used, while Stelle armed herself with a single kunai.
Among her hundred system rewards was a Jonin Experience Pack. Upon opening it, she had gained the combat awareness and instincts of a seasoned jonin. Her strength was by no means weak, though she knew she couldn't appear too powerful, as that would be abnormal.
Kunai in hand, she initiated the attack, lunging at Senju Tobirama.
"Clang! Clang!"
The sharp ring of steel on steel echoed through the yard as kunai met sword.
Tobirama's kenjutsu was sharp, precise, and brutally efficient. He was not some sheltered child who had never seen a battlefield. The Warring States Period was a chaotic time; even staying behind the front lines meant facing ambushes and raids. This sword style was purely for killing, devoid of any flashy, useless movements.
With every swing, he expertly parried Stelle's attacks, seeming to predict her every move.
But he soon noticed something was wrong. On the surface, it looked like he had the upper hand, but no matter how he attacked, he couldn't break through his clan sister's defense. Her insight was incredible; she saw through every one of his feints and strikes.
He was more than just his swordsmanship, however. As his blade struck out again, he suddenly shifted his angle, lunging at her wrist from an impossibly sharp trajectory.
Stelle flicked her kunai, blocking the thrust with a sharp impact. But the power behind this strike was far greater than any before, so much so that her kunai was sent spinning from her grasp.
In the next second, she reacted with blinding speed, raising her foot and kicking hard against his sword hilt. The force was so great that Tobirama's sword flew from his hand, clattering to the ground several feet away.
It had been a long time since Senju Tobirama had encountered such an evenly matched opponent. For a moment, his fighting spirit surged, and he pressed the attack with his bare fists.
The spar shifted to a contest of taijutsu. He had expected this to be another long, drawn-out affair, a back-and-forth to determine the winner.
As it turned out, Senju Tobirama was soundly beaten by a cheater.
This cousin's taijutsu was exceptionally refined, forcing him back step by agonizing step.
When the round ended, it appeared to be a draw, but only Tobirama knew the truth: he had lost. He was aching all over, so much so that he was gasping for air. He didn't know what this cousin of his usually studied, but she had specifically targeted the most painful spots on his body that wouldn't cause lasting injury. He felt like his bones were about to fall apart.
"Your taijutsu is very strong," Tobirama said, forcing a calm tone as he sat down on a large rock. "But your use of ninja tools is average. You still need more actual combat experience. Ask my elder brother to guide you later."
In truth, his whole body was in so much pain he felt he couldn't walk back just yet and needed to rest.
[Ding! Mood value from Senju Tobirama +1000]
Hearing the system notification, Stelle was delighted. Wow, what a generous amount! When she had revealed her Wood Release, Senju Butsuma had only given her 500 points, while others had offered a paltry 10 or 20. Today's daily quota was already sorted.
Stelle glanced at Tobirama a few times. He was clearly grimacing in pain, yet he still didn't seem like he was going to cry. She was genuinely impressed by his endurance, especially since she had deliberately targeted his most sensitive pressure points.
If he just took the chance to have a good cry now, it wouldn't be a big deal. No one was watching, anyway. After venting, he'd be back to being the calm, silver-haired boy tomorrow. Why did he have to hold it all in?
"Do you… still have something?" Tobirama asked, turning his head away. He could feel her strange gaze on him.
"I thought that if it hurt enough, you'd take the opportunity to cry and vent," Stelle said, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Why do you have to hold it in? Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness—these are everyone's natural instincts. Crying isn't something to be ashamed of. If you think my presence is in the way, I can disappear immediately."
She was truly curious why an eight-year-old child felt the need to constantly suppress his sadness.
Her words caused the composure on Senju Tobirama's face to finally crack.
Beaten to tears!
This cousin's way of comforting someone was to pick a fight with them, hitting them where it hurt most just to make them cry!
What kind of bizarre method was this?
"Are you sure you're comforting me?" For the first time in his young life, eight-year-old Senju Tobirama found himself doubting something so fundamentally.
Stelle scratched her head. "Well, walking over out of nowhere and saying 'cry if you want to' feels so weird. But if you think that's better, it's not impossible. Let's start over."
A smile as warm as a spring breeze bloomed on her face. She looked at Tobirama and said gently, "Cry if you want to. Do you want to borrow my shoulder for a bit?"
Senju Tobirama: "..."
[Ding! Mood value from Senju Tobirama +500]
The precocious boy didn't know what to say. After catching his breath, he pushed himself up from the rock, walked around her, and left the training ground.
He had to admit, although his cousin's methods were strange, they were surprisingly effective. The fierce fight, combined with her utterly baffling words, seemed to have diluted the irrepressible grief in his heart. He felt much lighter.
His father, as the head of the clan, had seen too much death and horror on the battlefield. Even when his own son died, he wouldn't show much emotion. He didn't even have time to comfort his remaining children, instead throwing himself back into the endless clan affairs.
His elder brother was a creature of pure emotion; he cried when he wanted to cry and laughed when he wanted to laugh. More often than not, it was up to Tobirama to comfort him. At the cemetery today, his brother had cried uncontrollably. If he had also lost control, Hashirama's pain would have only deepened. Someone had to remain stable.
He glanced back at his older cousin, who was still standing at the edge of the training ground, and whispered a "thank you."
But as he turned, the movement aggravated his bruises, and he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
It really, really hurt.
At dinnertime, since Stelle had just moved into the Clan Head's Mansion, she was given a place at the table.
During the meal, Senju Tobirama's posture was a bit stiff. His whole body ached from the beating, and his movements were particularly strange when he tried to pick up food.
Senju Hashirama immediately noticed something was wrong. "Tobirama, are you injured?"
"I accidentally twisted my waist during training," Tobirama said, offering a ridiculous lie that no one believed as his gaze landed pointedly on Stelle. He had truly never heard of comforting someone by beating them until they cried.
Stelle felt a pang of guilt under his stare. If she had known that the standard way to comfort someone in the Ninja World was just to offer a shoulder to lean on, she wouldn't have had to rack her brain for such a convoluted plan.
She lowered her head, used the serving chopsticks to place a piece of food in Tobirama's bowl, and then continued eating in silence, pretending nothing had happened.
"Twisted your waist?" Hashirama might have been a bit of a goofball, but he wasn't stupid.
Even Senju Butsuma, who had been eating while lost in thought, was alerted. He glanced at his second son's strange behavior but didn't pay it much mind. His second son had been low-maintenance since he was a child and could handle small matters himself.
"How is Stelle's strength?" he asked.
When it came to serious business, Tobirama's expression turned solemn. "Her taijutsu is very good; I am no match for her. Her use of ninja tools is rusty, with many openings, but her insight is very strong, which compensates for it."
"Not bad!"
Senju Butsuma was very satisfied with this assessment. He turned to instruct his eldest son to teach Stelle ninjutsu properly. A Wood Release user was a precious resource; once trained, she would become a pillar of the clan, just like his eldest son.
As the patriarch, he used the rare free time during dinner to lecture his sons, occasionally offering Stelle a few pointers as well. She kept her head down and ate, simply agreeing with whatever he said.
After finally making it through the meal, she decided she had to go apologize to Tobirama. Although she still didn't understand why his mood value was so much higher than others', he was her life-extending tool. She naturally had to manage that relationship well.
The white-haired youth was also lost in thought, walking down the hallway with his arms crossed and a deep, pensive expression on his face.
Seeing her waiting for him in the corridor, Senju Tobirama felt his body start to ache again. "Stelle, is there something else?"
Stelle found his address strange. "Shouldn't you call me 'Sister'? Calling me by my name is so weird."
'What kind of sister comforts her younger brother by beating him until he cries?' Tobirama complained inwardly.
"You're only two years older than me."
"That's still older than you," she said with a smile. "Fine, I won't tease you. If you want to call me by my name, then call me by my name; that's what names are for. I'm here to apologize. Here, have some candy."
As if performing a magic trick, she opened her palm to reveal a piece of rock candy and held it out to him. Seeing his precocious and stubborn look, she simply stuffed it directly into his mouth.
Senju Tobirama instinctively chewed a few times. The taste was vaguely familiar. He asked suspiciously, "Where did you get this?"
"Found it in a jar in the kitchen."
The white-haired youth suddenly snapped, "That's for cooking! There was only one piece left, and you gave it all to me! How are we supposed to cook now? This month's supplies haven't been restocked yet!"
"Uh, don't worry about the details," Stelle shrugged. "You've already eaten it, so how about we move past what happened this afternoon?"
There was nothing she could do. In an era of scarcity like the Warring States, sugar was an extremely precious commodity controlled by the nobility. Even in the household of the Senju Clan Head, supplies were rationed monthly; they couldn't just have sugar whenever they wanted.
[Ding! Mood value from Senju Tobirama +100]
Stelle looked at him in surprise. 'Don't tell me those 100 points were because of that piece of candy.'
The next day, Stelle was thrown into a busy training schedule.
Since Senju Butsuma had given the order, Senju Hashirama took the task of training his cousin very seriously. His idea of "serious" was to fight with everything he had, treating Stelle as if she were Uchiha Madara.
Senju Hashirama truly lived up to his future title as the God of Shinobi. Even at twelve years old, his combat strength was top-notch. When he trained with Stelle, he showed no mercy at all. This time, it was her turn to be beaten; the tables had truly turned.
After every session, Hashirama would still wear an incredibly sincere expression, smiling foolishly. Combined with his distinctive bowl cut, he was the very picture of an honest man.
"Sorry, Stelle. If I don't spar with you seriously, you'll get hurt on the battlefield later from a lack of experience. I'll try to be a bit gentler next time."
Stelle sat on the same large rock where Tobirama had sat a few days prior, grimacing in pain. She strongly suspected that Hashirama was settling a private grudge for his brother, but she had no evidence.
"Stelle, I heard from Father that you changed your name to this because 'Stelle'represents harmony and peace. Is that true?" Hashirama suddenly asked after another grueling training session.'I was just waiting for you to ask,' she thought.
Stelle nodded. "Yes. Chaos, war, death, separation… I just feel like this world is truly terrible. Before, I didn't have any power and could only live aimlessly. Now that I have this ability, I've started to wonder if I can change something by working hard."
Hearing this, a look of sheer excitement burst from Hashirama's eyes, as if he had found a long-lost soulmate.
"Stelle, you think so too? I often think about it as well—if there were no war, children could grow up normally, and everyone could live a stable life. How wonderful would that be?"
'Truly the God of Shinobi,'Stelle mused.'Even in his early teens, he's already thinking about changing the world. His whole being just radiates the charisma of a leader.'
She smiled. Since that was the case, she would have to play her part well.
"I always feel that the world shouldn't be like this," she said, her tone growing extremely serious. "I also want to become stronger and use my own hands to change this world. I don't like separation, and I don't want to see death."
"I don't like separation either," Hashirama's voice softened. "Itama was still so small; he didn't even get the chance to get a good look at this world."
His eyes dimmed for a moment. When he looked back at her, his face once again bore that silly yet incredibly earnest smile that made people instinctively want to believe in him.
He reached out his hand toward her. "Then let's work hard together. Let's work hard to try and change this world together."
[Ding! Mood value from Senju Hashirama +1000]
[Ding! Mood value from Senju Tobirama +1000]
'Why is there more from Tobirama?' Stelle glanced toward the edge of the training ground and saw him standing by a pillar, his arms crossed with that same mature look on his face. She had no idea how long he had been standing there.
Stelle suspected he had come just to watch her get beaten up.
But the mood values were so good. She had just earned two days' worth of her daily supply in one go. Happy!
This happiness lasted for all of a few seconds before Stelle felt unhappy again. After the combat reaction training ended, she still had to practice Wood Release. Against Hashirama's battle-hardened mastery, she was right back to being the one getting beaten. It was true she was a cheater, but becoming powerful was a process. It wouldn't be reasonable for someone to suddenly appear and be as strong as a war-tested veteran.
After the training finally ended, Stelle limped away from the training ground. Fortunately, the system could block the pain; otherwise, she suspected she would already be rolling on the ground in agony.
The future God of Shinobi was used to sparring with his brothers, cousins, and uncles; he didn't know his own strength. Having suddenly thrashed a younger female cousin so thoroughly, he seemed to feel he had gone too far. He apologized profusely as they walked, even promising to hold back more next time.
Although she earned another five hundred mood value points, Stelle still noted this grudge in her little mental notebook. 'Just you wait—the cheater will soon teach you how to behave.'
"My Medical Ninjutsu is pretty good," Hashirama said with a very apologetic attitude. "Sit down and I'll treat you. If we apply some medicine, you'll be fine by tomorrow."
"No need, I'll treat myself."
Stelle firmly refused. Most people in the Senju clan knew a bit of Medical Ninjutsu; she just needed to get her hands on a scroll. By treating herself a few times and becoming familiar with the basics, she could openly use even more powerful Medical Ninjutsu later. This way, she wouldn't have to invent excuses for suddenly knowing it, making it less likely she'd be exposed.
Seeing her refuse so decisively, Hashirama scratched his head awkwardly. In the next second, he dejectedly and with unerring accuracy found Tobirama standing in the distance. He squatted in front of his brother, looking completely miserable.
"Tobirama, Stelle seems to be mad at me. What should I do if she dislikes me?"
This was the first time Stelle had witnessed the real-life version of Senju Hashirama's infamous depressed mode from such a close distance. It was truly an eye-opener. One moment he was a fierce shinobi with Wood Release in his left hand and murderous taijutsu in his right, beating her until she couldn't fight back; the next, he had turned into… this. The dissonance was jarring.
Even Senju Tobirama had a look of faint disgust on his face.
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