Three days passed quickly.
During these three days, Senju Mori remained as before.
He commuted daily between the Hokage's office, the Forbidden Jutsu Chamber, and the Senju Clan's compound, diligently handling various governmental affairs and continuing to follow the training regimen he had set for himself.
However, from the unusually restless Senju Clan members, many sensed something out of the ordinary, as if the Senju Clan was preparing for a major event.
Combined with the cheers that erupted within the Senju compound that night, countless Konoha Ninja couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild.
On the day of the ceremony,
At dawn, Senju Mori had already changed into a light green haori adorned with the Senju Clan crest and led a large group of clan members to the Kouga Shrine.
At the same time, Uzumaki Mito, who was invited to the ceremony, also arrived with Little Tsunade, who was only seven years old, accompanied by several female attendants.
At this time, Tsunade could not yet understand the true meaning of today's ceremony; in her opinion, it was just a change of name, nothing major.
However, the arrival of so many clan members and the solemn atmosphere of the scene still made her uncontrollably nervous.
Uzumaki Mito keenly sensed this, held Tsunade in her arms, and gently comforted her.
As the widow of the former First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, a highly respected elder within the family, and Tsunade's own blood relative.
Uzumaki Mito had every reason to be there.
The location of the Kouga Shrine was uniquely blessed; one end leaned against a verdant mountain wall, and a waterfall, like a white cascade, fell from a not-too-high cliff, continuously pouring into the clear pool below.
The sound of water gurgled, and mist swirled.
This added a touch of purity and spirituality to this place of worship; the vermilion shrine gate stood open, and amidst the trees, several halls faintly revealed ancient and majestic outlines.
Clan elder Senju He was already waiting by the waterfall; seeing Lord Mori arrive, he quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Lord Mori."
Then, he took a wide wooden ladle, scooped up clear water, and assisted Senju Mori in performing the "Water Purification" – washing away worldly defilements with living water to purify body and mind, thus being able to face the ancestors and undertake the mission.
Subsequently, Little Tsunade also stepped forward, somewhat nervously repeating the same steps as Senju Mori.
After both of them completed their purification, the Senju Clan members gathered around Senju Mori and proceeded into the shrine's main gate.
Soon, everyone arrived at the formal venue for the ceremony, in front of a large open-air altar.
In the censers around the altar, the finest white sandalwood incense had already been lit, and the faint, elegant fragrance and rising wisps of smoke enhanced the sacred and solemn atmosphere.
Another clan elder, Senju Taigo, was waiting there; he would act as the master of ceremonies, guiding everyone through all the upcoming ritual procedures.
The first half of the ceremony was Senju Mori's "Clan Leader Inauguration Ceremony."
Under the guidance of Senju Taigo, Senju Mori steadily stepped forward to offer "Three Offerings" to the ancestors—sake, rice stalks, and clear water.
These symbolized respect for the ancestral deities, prayers for the prosperity of the family, and reverence for the purity of the bloodline and vitality.
Then, he personally lit the incense sticks on the altar, and the blue smoke rose straight up, disappearing into the sky.
Three items were enshrined in the center of the altar: a broad-bladed greatsword, a seemingly unremarkable Kunai, and a giant scroll.
The greatsword was a relic of Senju Hashirama.
To signify the legitimacy of Senju Mori's succession, the clan elders had specifically brought out the First Hokage's weapon.
It was a broad-bladed greatsword that Senju Hashirama frequently used during his lifetime, having been wielded by him in countless battles, including the Final Valley battle against Uchiha Madara.
If one looked closely, faint, chaotic scratches and marks left by various Ninjutsu could still be seen on the blade.
Although this greatsword was not a clan leader's token like the Uchiha fan, nor was it made from the branches of the God Tree, the meaning it held was extraordinary.
Another item on the altar was a Kunai that Senju Tobirama used during his lifetime.
Although its style was no different from an ordinary Kunai, on one side, Senju Tobirama's exclusive Flying Thunder God Mark was engraved—
A peculiar pattern with two concentric circles as its core, from which six broken lines extended outwards from the smaller inner circle.
As for the last item, the scroll, it was the family's ancestral registry passed down through generations, carrying the long history of the Senju Clan and the glory and honor of the past millennium.
The ceremony proceeded slowly and meticulously.
Senju Taigo unrolled the ceremonial address and recited it in a long, solemn tone; the content of the address largely recalled the history of the Senju Clan and extolled Senju Mori's own achievements.
Senju Mori then led all the clan members in a solemn worship before the altar.
After the worship, under the gaze of all the clan members, Uzumaki Mito personally stepped forward, took the First Hokage's broad-bladed greatsword from the altar, and handed it to Senju Mori.
Senju Mori extended his hands and firmly grasped the greatsword's scabbard and hilt.
Below the altar, a large wooden stake symbolizing an "enemy" had already been set up.
Senju Mori, holding the First Hokage's greatsword, refined Chakra within his body and channeled it into his hands, splitting the stake in two with an extremely clean and decisive vertical slash.
Then, Senju Mori stuck the greatsword aside and quickly formed three special hand seals.
With a clear chime, a water dragon shot straight up from the waterfall outside the shrine, soared and circled above the shrine, and finally transformed into a misty drizzle.
This was the new clan leader's "blessing" to the clan members, but under the influence of Ninjutsu, it could be presented in an even more awe-inspiring manner.
After completing all this, Senju Mori turned back to the altar, personally took the family registry from it, and accepted a brush offered by a clan elder, writing "Clan Leader - Senju Mori" on the newest page.
Senju Mori then received the "Clan Leader's Seal" and pressed it firmly after the name.
Originally, a clan elder had suggested using blood for this step, but Senju Mori, considering the endless array of strange Ninjutsu in the Ninja World, dared not casually shed blood and ultimately decided to use ink.
At this point, Senju Mori's Clan Leader Inauguration Ceremony was officially completed.
Compared to the solemnity and gravity of the first half, the second half, the "Tsunade's Reintegration Ceremony," was somewhat more relaxed.
The third clan elder appeared and publicly read Tsunade's bloodline origins and the contents of her birth parents' letter.
Uzumaki Mito took the family registry, wrote the characters "Senju Tsunade" on it with a brush and ink, and then Senju Mori affixed the Clan Leader's Seal after it.
At this point, the ceremony was finally completed.
Senju Mori placed the family registry back on the altar, raised the First Hokage's greatsword high, and publicly swore an oath to revitalize the family.
Finally, he picked up the sake jar from before the altar and drank the sacred sake offered to the ancestors with all the clan members, symbolizing that under the ancestors' witness, the Senju Clan would unite as one.
After the ceremony, as he walked out of the shrine, Senju Mori did not take off the haori adorned with the Senju Clan crest but wore it naturally underneath.
The Hokage's ceremonial robe, symbolizing his status as the Hokage of Konohagakure, was casually draped over it.
In Senju Mori's view, the family was his most important base, and the rise of civilian Ninja was merely the inevitable trend of Konoha's development in the Ninja Village era.
Reproducing new Ninja through Ninja Clans was too slow; only by incorporating the vast number of civilian Ninja could Konoha maintain its unparalleled Ninja count in the Ninja World and consistently uphold its powerful hegemonic strength.
Senju Mori had never intended to hinder this trend either.
What he wanted to do was to go with the flow and guide it in the direction he had chosen...