"Shuji, remember, we are the Senju clan."
"The Senju founded Konoha. We gave up our name and privileges for the village. But as the last who still remember our roots, we must never discard our honor."
This was what "Shuji" had always heard.
"From now on, I will take care of you, Shuji."
"Grandma? Where are Mom and Dad?"
"They have gone to a faraway place."
They died in battle against the enemy. "Shuji" understood that. All he could do was walk the road his parents had walked before him.
Training, fighting, becoming an excellent shinobi. They were Senju who willingly hid their name. They were the last Senju.
"You can still escape."
Kaito...
"Go now. Take the intel back."
Kenta...
I'm sorry. I only made it this far.
"Grandma, it hurts."
"Just... bear with it a little longer..." That aged voice pleaded.
I'm sorry, Grandma.
Finally, it's my turn...
Tsunade yanked her hand away. She staggered back, clutching her chest, gasping violently. Her whole body trembled beyond control. Her face went deathly pale.
"After I came back from death, I asked myself, was it all worth it?"
"The road to peace is so long you cannot see the end."
"But if there are no successors, if those who come after cannot keep going, all the sacrifices before were for nothing."
"There are no shortcuts to peace."
"The fortunate thing is that now, there are still people, not just one person, running hard on that road."
Shuji pulled off the red robe trimmed in gold and draped it over Tsunade's trembling shoulders, then turned to leave.
"Wait."
Tsunade's voice still carried the tremor she had not calmed. She stopped him.
"You didn't come to me just for Sage Mode training."
"That's right." Shuji stopped but did not turn.
"What else do you want to do?"
"The Third and the whole team around him are too old," Shuji said calmly. "With the village's internal and external situation, relying on this aging squad, even maintaining things is painfully difficult."
Tsunade lifted her eyes, tone sharp. "Are you planning a coup?"
"That's an extreme way to put it, and I already spoke with the Third before I left to find you."
"He did not object."
Yes. That was the old man's way.
The woman thought of her own situation and said with defeat, "Then what good does it do coming to me? Just have Jiraiya go back and become Hokage."
"You are the most suitable candidate."
Jiraiya was strong enough, but too fixated on the so-called Child of Destiny. And the Child of Destiny was still a brat experiencing what it meant to be a jinchūriki.
Tsunade was more pragmatic, and she had the ability to take over the village at the fastest speed.
"I cannot..."
"If it's only hemophobia, it just depends on whether you want to solve it."
Tsunade gave a cold laugh. "You think I haven't tried? A few days ago, helping those from the Hidden Cloud, I was trying. Otherwise how would the Raikage have learned about the hemophobia?"
Shuji smiled faintly. "Your brain must be broken. You tried exposing your greatest weakness in a situation where friend and foe were unclear and there was no guarantee of safety."
"Bastard. Go find someone else," the woman raged. "Right now you are asking me."
"Yes. Please forgive me," Shuji replied smoothly, though his tone held not a trace of apology.
"Get lost."
Tsunade grabbed Shuji's robe off her shoulders and threw it at him.
"Get far away."
Shuji caught the garment and walked off without hesitation.
Tsunade's anger had not cooled. She sat on the ground and stared at the endless sea before her.
Grandfather, your dream seems to be continuing still.
In the days that followed, Tsunade's attitude toward Shuji became much worse, but she continued to assist his training.
Every so often, Shizune crossed the water to buy supplies and bring them back. As for what happened between Tsunade and Shuji, she heard some of it but said nothing. She only waited for her teacher's decision.
Shuji no longer tried to have any deep conversation. He had said what needed saying and used all the methods he could. That was Tsunade. Hoping to force her to submit with words was out of the question.
Half a month later, Shuji could stabilize Sage Mode with only Katsuyu's help and without Tsunade's chakra support. Ten days after that, he no longer needed Katsuyu either.
By then, he had basically mastered Sage Mode, though he lacked matching sage techniques.
He had asked Katsuyu about that.
"There aren't any, Shuji," Katsuyu said in a soft, apologetic voice. "Katsuyu is a single entity. My attack methods already carry sage energy. I do not have techniques suited for you."
So he would have to develop them himself.
Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands ate too much chakra. Even Hashirama under Edo Tensei could not open True Several Thousand Hands. The current Shuji could not afford it either.
He would have to start with other techniques first.
Adding sage chakra to a jutsu basically made it a sage technique. He knew many jutsu. It was just that adding sage chakra changed the chakra output ratio, so he would have to research it again.
Still, Sage Mode's greatest benefit was actually the boost to base stats. Sage techniques and all that were not needed often anyway, so there was no rush.
"Shuji."
When his training was complete and he was about to leave Uzushio Village, Tsunade finally spoke again and broke the long silence.
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
"If you are dissatisfied with the old man's methods, you should at least present a more viable plan than theirs."
"Otherwise I will take it as empty talk, and you can forget about bringing me back to the village."
Shuji did not answer directly. He only looked at her quietly.
"There is one thing I forgot to tell you," he said slowly. "Though the Third supports my efforts to bring you back, he had one condition."
"If the hemophobia is not resolved, after you return, we would probably have to use some unconventional methods to get him to step down."
"So..." Shuji's gaze settled on Tsunade's face. "Are you ready to resolve it?"
The sea wind lifted Tsunade's golden hair. She fell silent, her gaze sweeping past the distant desolate ruins and finally stopping on Shuji.
"Give me your plan first." Her tone left no room for argument.
"You really are willful, Lady Tsunade."
"Shut up. Speak." The blonde woman raised a fist in threat and shook it.
Shuji sighed almost imperceptibly. "Do you want me to shut up or speak?"
Seeing Tsunade's face darken further, he continued at once. "Where would you like to start?"
"Last time at Degarashi Port, you said you had thoughts about the Uchiha clan." Tsunade lowered her fist. "Start with the Uchiha."
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild