Two days later, at midnight, the Guard Tower was as quiet as ever.
Having fully adapted to the two divine tools, Senya did not return to the training grounds. He cultivated the Sage Body inside the tower and nursed his pupils.
Without the tablet, relying only on the energy in his core, progress with the Sage Body was almost negligible.
He needed a holy land to draw natural energy.
"So where did Senju Hashirama learn his Sage Mode?"
He planned to absorb natural energy and, along the way, learn senjutsu.
In the original tale, Hashirama's Wood Release reached such heights not only because of the Sage Body but because he had mastered sage arts.
He could enter Sage Mode instantly and unleash True Several Thousand Hands - Top Transformed Buddha, a technique that could meet a complete Susanoo plus the Nine-Tails head on.
Known places to learn sage arts were Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest.
Aside from those three, only Jugo's senjutsu was mentioned.
But Jugo's art was innate and came with the risk of losing control.
He could not freely balance natural energy, and entering Sage Mode meant he could not control his emotions.
He also needed a curse mark to channel it.
The timelines made it impossible for Hashirama to have had the same.
So the answer had to be one of the three holy lands.
Mount Myoboku's Sage Mode had orange eye shadow with a black horizontal bar through the pupils.
Ryuchi Cave's gave horns and draconic traits.
Shikkotsu Forest's style was never detailed, but as one of the three, it surely had a lineage.
Mention Shikkotsu Forest, and Senya thought of Tsunade's Byakugo.
When she used it, markings spread over her face.
Even so, Hashirama's Sage Mode far exceeded Byakugo in strength and recovery.
Byakugo could be a weakened form of his art.
Add that Tsunade was Hashirama's granddaughter and her summon was Katsuyu of Shikkotsu Forest.
Summon contracts usually ran in families, so Hashirama, perhaps the whole Senju, likely had ties to Shikkotsu Forest.
With how he doted on his granddaughter, he would have arranged her contract early.
"Looks like I need a trip to Shikkotsu Forest."
After a moment's thought, he reached his conclusion.
Ryuchi Cave or Mount Myoboku might also teach him, but that veered from his path.
What he wanted was the Sage Body's fearsome healing and Wood Release to restrain tailed beasts.
Combine that with his Sharingan to seek a higher eye.
The Rinnegan.
That was his true plan.
As for natural energy, any of the three holy lands would suffice.
The simplest route to Shikkotsu Forest was through Tsunade's summon contract.
Have her take him there.
Once he had the coordinates, Summon Flash would let him come and go freely.
During this war, Tsunade had watched Nawaki and Dan die and developed hemophobia.
Disheartened, she might leave the village to wander within days.
Finding her later would be hard.
He had to move quickly.
...
Meanwhile, on the edge of the Uchiha quarter, white-masked figures crossed the boundary and slipped inward.
Their auras were eerie, their chakra signatures suppressed to faint whispers.
They were clearly trained for this.
Judging by their speed, each was at least jonin class.
They moved through the Uchiha compound as if they knew it by heart, dodging patrols with ease.
"Captain, why not wait a few more days?"
The ninja in a white cat mask rasped.
According to their intel, the Uchiha would choose a young clan head in a few days. That would be when the clan was slackest.
"This is Lord Danzo's order. We only execute."
"Your speed is the greatest. Once we have it, you take it to headquarters."
"Remember, no matter what happens, just put it in Lord Danzo's hands."
The crow-masked captain stepped back to the cat-masked man and spoke coldly, voice low.
After that brief exchange, the squad fell into silence again.
With sharp sensing, they reached the heart of the district.
Soon several shadows halted in a blind spot near the shrine.
Their target, according to intel, was hidden within Naka Shrine.
The captain eyed the dark building and did not rush in.
There would be guards inside. He needed their positions.
This was Uchiha territory, and they did not dare use overt scouting jutsu.
After a few seconds' thought, he turned to the lonely Guard Tower nearby.
Their intel said the resident was a waste who had failed to reach chunin more than ten years after graduating.
The tower's second floor could see into the shrine.
"Seize the tower first. Wait for an opening."
He gave the order.
They would have one chance. He could not be careless.
Before long they clung to the tower's second-floor blind spot.
At the view slit, an Uchiha ninja was yawning, bored out of his mind.
He seemed oblivious to the change outside.
After a few seconds studying the room, the captain signaled.
In the next instant, with a soft POOF..., several figures slid through the wall, appeared behind the Uchiha, and struck him down hard.
They did not kill him to avoid the scent of blood.
"Tch. The Uchiha's vigilance is pathetic."
The striker's eyes flashed with contempt.
The captain glanced at the Uchiha on the floor and dismissed him.
It was only natural that several jonin could handle a forever-genin this easily.
He shifted to the viewing slit and began observing the shrine.
Lord Danzo valued this mission. There could be no mistakes.
While they focused wholly on the watch angles, searching for gaps in the surveillance of the shrine, a figure drifted into place behind them without a sound.
...