Naruto: In Konoha Village, I awakened Wood Release at the start.

Leaf.

The Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slumped into his office chair.

His chest heaved violently.

All the clues in my mind intertwined and collided wildly at this moment.

at last.

He pieced together a truth that sent chills down his spine.

Why would the proud and arrogant Tsunade treat a commoner chunin differently?

Why would she rather hide outside from debt collectors than keep Chiba by her side?

It's not because Chiba has any medical talent.

The words in that letter were all utter nonsense!

The reason Tsunade took him as her disciple was simply because he was a descendant of the Senju clan!

Hiruzen Sarutobi gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

The Senju clan.

That was the founder of Konoha.

It was also the family of his teacher, Tobirama Senju.

But now.

This terrifying family has left behind such a horrific bloodline!

Less than two years!

Tsunade took Chiba out of the village, and it was only a little over a year at most!

In this short period of time.

How could Chiba have grown from an insignificant commoner chunin to such a level?

The mere release of chakra was enough to severely injure three elite ANBU members?

What terrifying power this is!

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well that even he himself couldn't do this kind of thing.

What does this tell us?

This shows that Chiba's bloodline purity is ridiculously high!

The power contained within him may have already surpassed that of Tsunade!

even……

Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not think any further.

Those two towering figures seemed to appear in his mind once again.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Is the Senju clan about to produce another monster that will change the landscape of the ninja world?

Just then.

A loud "bang" was heard.

The solid wood door to the Hokage's office was violently pushed open.

The door slammed against the wall, making a dull echo.

Danzo Shimura stepped across the threshold and strode into his office.

Behind him followed two Root ninjas wearing no masks.

"Hiruzen!"

"You're so slow!"

Danzo's voice was cold and hard, filled with undisguised anger.

He had obviously received the message as well.

The intelligence network of the Root is never inferior to that of the Dark Division.

In some aspects, it is even more sensitive.

Danzo walked to the desk and stared down at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The single eye that was exposed gleamed with a mad light.

Just half an hour ago.

His Root subordinates reported to him what had happened at the village entrance, as well as Chiba's whereabouts on his way to the former site of the Senju clan.

That instant.

Danzo felt as if he had been slapped hard across the face.

He was tricked by Tsunade!

A year ago, one of the Root members he sent to monitor was killed and another was injured.

He thought it was because Tsunade had a bad temper and didn't want to be monitored by the village.

He thought Chiba was really just an insignificant piece of trash.

In order not to escalate the conflict, he withdrew the surveillance personnel.

But who could have imagined!

This is all a smokescreen by that crazy woman Tsunade!

That useless Chunin is actually a remnant of the Senju clan!

"Hiruzen, look what you've done!"

"A member of the Senju clan has been roaming right under your nose for sixteen years!"

"You didn't even notice!"

Danzo slammed his cane heavily on the floor.

One blow after another, like tapping on Hiruzen Sarutobi's taut nerves.

Danzo.

Watch your words.

"This is the Hokage's office."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head, his eyes cold.

Danzo didn't buy into that at all.

He let out a cold laugh.

"Naruto?"

"If you were a good Hokage, you wouldn't let such a dangerous guy run rampant in the village."

"Hand over Chiba to me."

"Let him join the roots."

"I will do it my way, making him Konoha's sharpest weapon!"

Speaking of it.

Danzo suddenly took a step closer and placed his hands on the desk.

His tone was unequivocal.

"Don't even think about it!"

Upon hearing this...

Hiruzen Sarutobi blurted it out almost subconsciously.

He knows his old classmate all too well.

Danzo's desire for the Hokage position was almost pathological.

If you add the thousand leaves to the roots.

Given the terrifying strength that Chiba is currently displaying.

In addition, there's his identity as a member of the Senju clan.

Danzo will definitely use Chiba to threaten his own position.

Danzo.

"Don't push your luck."

"Chiba is Tsunade's disciple and a Konoha ninja."

"He is not a tool for you to use in your power struggles."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice carried a strong sense of warning.

"tool?"

Danzo was so angry that he laughed instead.

He straightened up, his single remaining eye filled with mockery.

"Hitmonaki, Hiruzen."

"Are you getting senile?"

"Do you think Chiba is still the same ordinary Chunin you can manipulate at will?"

"Do you think he's still that insignificant kid from the ninja academy?"

Danzo pointed to the bloodstains on the ground.

Those were three members of the ANBU who went to find Chiba and stayed here.

"Open your eyes and look!"

"Is this out of respect for the Hokage?"

"Is this loyalty to the village?"

Danzo took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

"More harmonious and acceptable."

Have you ever thought about something?

"How could he become so strong in just over a year?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart skipped a beat.

This is also the issue he has been fearing.

But Danzo coldly tore away this facade.

"The bloodline of the Senju clan is not the Sharingan of the Uchiha!"

"Those lunatics from the Uchiha clan can suddenly have their eyes change and their strength skyrocket if they get a little stimulation."

"But what does the Senju clan rely on?"

"It's a physical body!"

"It's chakra!"

"These things are predetermined from the moment of birth; they require years of honing!"

Even if Tsunade wanted to teach him.

Even if he trains every day without sleeping.

"There's no way he could have gone from a useless Chunin to a monster capable of severely injuring a Jonin with his sheer force in just over a year!"

These words struck Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart like a heavy hammer.

He couldn't refute it.

Because Danzo is right.

In the world of ninjas, there is no such thing as unearned strength.

The transformation of one's physique and the accumulation of chakra cannot be achieved overnight.

"The only explanation..."

"This Chiba, he's been pretending all along!"

"He's been hiding his true strength!"

"He fooled the teachers at the Ninja Academy, he fooled the ninja in charge, and he even fooled you, the Hokage!"

"He hid for a full sixteen years!"

Danzo narrowed his eyes, a murderous intent surging within them.

As Danzo finished speaking.

A deathly silence fell over the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent.

But a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

If what Danzo said is true.

Chiba is a terrifying person.

A child who went to the battlefield at the age of ten.

Facing the brutal, meat-grinding battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War.

He was even able to suppress his power.

Watching helplessly as his companions died, watching helplessly as he himself fell into a desperate situation.

What a profound and cunning scheme!

What an incredibly resilient character!

Why did he hide it?

Danzo pressed on relentlessly, giving Hiruzen Sarutobi no chance to catch his breath.

"Because deep down, he doesn't trust you, the Hokage!"

"He doesn't approve of your rule!"

"Now, do you still dare to say you're the Hokage of Konoha?"

Danzo's words were like daggers to the heart.

He unearthed all of Hiruzen Sarutobi's deepest fears.

Chiba returned to the village.

He neither returned to his home in the civilian district nor reported to the Hokage's office.

Instead, they headed straight for the desolate Senju clan's stronghold.

They even showed no mercy to the secret agents who came to deliver the order, and dealt them a heavy blow.

This is hardly a return to the village.

This is clearly a protest!

This is a declaration to him, the Third Hokage, that the Senju clan has returned!