Regarding Tsunade's vision, Shinji was genuinely impressed.
Anyone with keen eyes could see that Koharu Utatane taking him as her apprentice was a clear attempt to use him to counterbalance the new generation of Hokage-lineage shinobi.
Yet Tsunade, setting aside past grudges, extended such an olive branch, undoubtedly proving her desire to mend the internal conflicts of the Hidden Leaf Village.
But from Shinji's perspective, whose Anbu he served under wasn't the critical issue. What truly mattered was autonomy and freedom.
Comparatively, working under Koharu Utatane would undoubtedly offer greater autonomy and freedom. After all, constantly operating under the Hokage's watchful eye left little room for personal pursuits.
After a brief moment of thought, Shinji declined Tsunade's proposal: "Thank you for your trust, but I've already agreed to become the elder's Anbu."
"That's truly a pity!"
Tsunade sighed, genuinely feeling the loss.
After seeing Tsunade off, Shinji stood and approached the front desk, addressing the administrator: "I want to review the ancient texts of the Senju clan!"
The administrator's expression shifted: "You don't have that authority!"
Shinji frowned: "I'm the First Chair?"
The administrator scoffed: "Even the First Chair can't! These aren't your Uchiha clan's texts. These are the records of the First, Second, and soon-to-be Fifth Hokage's family. How could they be casually lent out for others to read?"
Shinji's displeasure grew: "Do I really need to bring up the advisor elder?"
The administrator replied: "Even the advisor elder wouldn't suffice. If you want to access them, you need the Hokage's special permission."
Mid-sentence, the administrator suddenly froze, his expression turning vacant.
"The new Hokage is trying to win me over, yet a mere administrator dares to prattle on? Utterly ridiculous!"
Shinji cast a dojutsu illusion, sending the administrator into a dream state, then slipped past him into the archives.
Unlike the meticulous search through Uchiha records, this time he only needed clues from the Senju clan about "sealing enemies," narrowing his focus considerably.
Even so, faced with the vast sea of clan texts in the archive, Shinji dutifully formed hand signs, summoning over a dozen shadow clones to assist.
After a long while, one shadow clone raised a hand and shouted: "Found it!"
Shinji's real body hurriedly set down the book in hand, rushing over in three strides: "What did you find?"
The shadow clone unfurled a scroll before Shinji's real body: "Look, this scroll records the various dangerous enemies the Senju clan sealed. Check these points!"
Shinji followed the clone's finger, noticing several points that perfectly aligned with the area where Mumei had invaded Jikibi.
Shinji murmured: "Mumei… was she sealed in these locations?"
The shadow clone grinned: "Why not go check? With our current strength, even if we dig up the wrong person, we should be able to handle it with ease!"
"Hm!"
Shinji carefully stored the scroll.
Standing up, Shinji's real body noticed all his shadow clones had paused their tasks, looking at him eagerly. He smiled: "Don't worry, I'll save her!"
Whump whump whump.
The smiling shadow clones dissipated into white smoke with soft pops.
Shinji restored the archive to its original state, then casually dispelled the illusion on the administrator as he left.
The dazed administrator snapped back to life, continuing: "So if you want to view the Senju clan's texts, bring the Hokage's permission first!"
Shinji ignored him and left the archive.
After exiting, Shinji returned to his apartment, prepared some shinobi tools, left a shadow clone behind, and slipped out of the village unnoticed.
According to the sealing scroll, the Senju clan had sealed over a dozen extremely malevolent enemies during the Warring States period.
Of these dozen-plus sealing points, only three fell within Jikibi's range at the time, all within the Land of Fire. Even visiting all three wouldn't be difficult for Shinji now.
Sleepless through the night, Shinji reached the first sealing site as dawn's first light pierced the clouds the next morning.
"Is this the place?"
Though excited, Shinji knew the sealed entity here might not be Mumei but some other enemy the Senju deemed evil. He didn't act rashly, instead standing outside the sealing point, carefully sensing it.
Moments later, Shinji sighed.
His probing had yielded nothing.
"If that's the case, I'll just have to dig it up and see!"
Resolved, Shinji raised a hand, and countless vines sprouted from the ground, forming massive wooden hands that unearthed the entire sealed area.
Staring at the massive, jar-like sealing object, Shinji assessed its age while targeting the lid with an Almighty Push.
Boom.
With a tremendous repelling force, the already decayed jar lid was blasted away by Shinji's Almighty Push. Immediately, a foul stench surged from the jar.
Shinji instinctively covered his mouth and nose, stepping back.
He realized the sealed entity here definitely wasn't Mumei. But since he'd already opened the blind box, he had to see what was inside before leaving.
Crack.
A pitch-black arm emerged from the jar, gripping the rim, followed by strange gurgle gurgle noises from within.
Simultaneously, a decayed chakra emanated from the jar.
Such a scene might terrify others, but Shinji only felt impatience. The arm lingered at the rim, making odd noises without emerging.
"Forget it, I'll treat it as a cleanup!"
His last shred of interest gone, Shinji formed hand signs and unleashed a Great Fireball Technique at the jar.
The jar, engulfed in flames, echoed with a heart-wrenching wail. Then, a mass of inky,漆-like black sludge burst from the fire, lunging at Shinji.
Without looking closely, Shinji raised a hand, unleashing another Almighty Push, blasting the sludge away.
The sludge, repelled by the Almighty Push, shattered in midair, turning to ash in the dawn's light before scattering completely.
Whoosh.
Shinji didn't look back, vanishing with a flicker.
The target sealed here might have been formidable once, but time's erosion had left it decayed, unworthy of Shinji's serious attention.