Early morning.
Inside Ren's room.
On the tatami mat—
a beautiful figure was lying on top of Ren, sleeping soundly.
She even murmured unconsciously, as if having a pleasant dream.
A trace of crystal-clear drool hung at the corner of her mouth.
When Ren woke up,
he looked at Tsunade speechlessly.
Originally, he had treated her as a body pillow—
but somehow the situation had reversed, and he had become the pillow instead.
Because "little Ren" was quite energetic, he had almost suffered from a chakra deviation.
"Hmm?"
Feeling Ren's movement, Tsunade slowly woke up.
She saw the handsome face before her—so charming it could captivate anyone—smiling mischievously at her.
Her beautiful face instantly flushed red.
"You little brat, stop looking so smug!"
Tsunade scolded with a red face.
"Hurry up and get lost. Shizune and Karin will be here soon!"
She struggled to get up.
She absolutely didn't want Shizune and Karin to catch her like this.
If that happened, it would be a complete disaster—she wouldn't even have the face to see them again.
But deep inside, she couldn't help feeling a bit empty.
Once you tasted something good, you craved it again.
Ren's warm embrace was simply too comfortable.
Every time she rested there, she felt incredibly relaxed.
Safer than ever before.
"Tsunade-nee…"
Ren wrapped his arms around her and buried his face against her soft chest.
Refusing to get up, he grinned.
"You promised to be my body pillow, so why did it turn into the opposite?"
"Get lost already! Stop trying to tempt me!"
Tsunade glared fiercely with her beautiful eyes.
Her pretty face was flushed with a captivating redness.
"I already said this was the last time!"
But her heart trembled slightly.
That little brat had basically spoken her inner thoughts out loud.
She might really have grown fond of it.
Otherwise, how could she have lost her mind—
and agreed to that kid's unreasonable request again?
No!
There absolutely couldn't be a next time.
"Lady Tsunade…"
At that moment,
Shizune's voice came from outside the door.
Ren and Tsunade immediately looked at each other.
"Why aren't you gone yet, you little brat!" Tsunade's heart skipped a beat as she hurried to drive him away.
"See you later, Tsunade-nee."
Ren grinned.
He buried his face one last time into her soft chest.
Just as Tsunade nearly jumped up in shock—
he vanished from the room in a blur.
"Shizune, stop calling already…"
Looking at the clearly visible handprints left behind,
Tsunade felt both embarrassed and annoyed.
She wanted nothing more than to beat Ren up.
"I'm going to wash up. You and Karin go downstairs first!"
Meanwhile—
inside a somewhat gloomy cave.
"What is it?"
Uchiha Obito, who had just woken up, saw Black Zetsu and White Zetsu returning from the Land of Hot Water.
The right half of his face looked ugly and twisted.
He put on a spiral mask and asked,
"Did your investigation in the Land of Hot Water produce results?"
"Obito, something unexpected happened."
White Zetsu replied.
"Not only Tsunade and her disciples were there—Jiraiya, another of the Legendary Sannin, also appeared in the Land of Hot Water."
"The Legendary Sannin? Then they must know many things, right?"
Beside Obito,
a strange humanoid creature with a spiral-patterned face spoke eagerly.
"I really want to ask them what it feels like to have the urge to poop!"
"..."
Obito's mouth twitched.
He directly ignored Spiral Zetsu's nonsense.
He was already used to that bizarre way of thinking.
"So the cultist from the Jashin cult was killed by them?"
Obito asked.
"That's likely the case."
Black Zetsu nodded and spoke slowly.
"But something worth noting is that we found traces of Wood Release on the battlefield."
"Wood Release?"
Obito was visibly surprised.
"Yes. A forest created by Wood Release appeared there."
"Judging by the scale, it's far inferior to the First Hokage's level—but still quite formidable."
Black Zetsu answered.
"So someone has mastered the First Hokage's Wood Release?"
Behind the spiral mask, Obito's exposed three-tomoe Sharingan narrowed slightly.
He frowned.
"Was it Tsunade?"
"Based on strength, the probability is high."
Black Zetsu replied directly.
"She's the granddaughter of the First Hokage and carries the Senju bloodline."
"Whether she awakened Wood Release by chance or gained it through transplanting the First Hokage's cells, it wouldn't be surprising."
According to the information they had gathered,
Tsunade's disciple Akira Ren was also rumored to be a descendant of the Senju clan.
He was born with enormous chakra and was considered a true genius.
But after all—
he was only ten years old.
There was simply no way he could have reached that level.
Even Black Zetsu never suspected Ren.
"I see."
Obito nodded.
He clearly accepted Black Zetsu's analysis.
Beside them, Spiral Zetsu asked,
"Obito, should we kill her?"
"No need."
Obito waved his hand dismissively.
His eyes flickered coldly.
"That woman despises Konoha's leadership. She'd rather wander the world than return to the village."
"She shouldn't interfere with our plans."
"And besides—"
"Just because someone has Wood Release doesn't mean they're the First Hokage."
"Otherwise she would have returned to Konoha long ago and eliminated those rotten old men."
"The once-great Senju clan fell from Konoha's most powerful family to just a handful of survivors."
"The Konoha leadership headed by the Third Hokage played a big role in that."
Obito wasn't worried at all.
He himself possessed the First Hokage's cells and could also use Wood Release.
But compared to the First Hokage—
the difference was enormous.
In the end, what made the First Hokage truly powerful was his absurd chakra reserves—greater than even a tailed beast—and his overwhelming Yang Release power.
Even if others transplanted his cells, they could never replicate that level of chakra and Yang Release.
Black Zetsu remained silent.
On the surface, he was said to be the will created by Uchiha Madara using Yin–Yang Release before his death.
His job was to assist and monitor Obito in carrying out the Eye of the Moon Plan.
But in truth—
he was actually the will created by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the one known as the Progenitor of Chakra and the Rabbit Goddess.
Long ago, before being completely sealed by her two sons—
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, and Ōtsutsuki Hamura—
Kaguya had used her remaining power to create him.
His purpose was to one day gather all nine tailed beasts, use the husk of the Ten-Tails—the Gedo Statue, which was the body of the Divine Tree—and revive the Ten-Tails.
Then they would cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi across the world.
And the Progenitor of Chakra, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, would descend upon the world once more.
What Obito said wasn't wrong.
Others with Wood Release couldn't match the First Hokage.
However—
Obito had overlooked something important.
Even if Tsunade with Wood Release wasn't the First Hokage—
Obito himself wasn't truly Uchiha Madara either.
And the difference between them was enormous.
If he underestimated Tsunade,
he might suffer a major loss someday.
But to Black Zetsu, such things were merely side entertainment.
They wouldn't affect the grand plan.
As long as Nagato possessed the Rinnegan that belonged to Madara—
the scheme he had spent thousands of years preparing would not fail.
Once Madara was revived,
even if the First Hokage himself were resurrected—
he wouldn't be able to stop Madara, who had awakened the Rinnegan.
At that time,
Madara would use his overwhelming power to gather the nine tailed beasts through the Gedo Statue, become the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Then Black Zetsu's plan would finally be complete.
"For now, the Akatsuki is still too weak."
Obito said coldly.
"We're still in the stage of hiding and accumulating strength. Drawing the attention of the Sannin right now would be troublesome."
As he spoke,
his body twisted into a vortex and vanished.
Even if they wanted to test Tsunade, it would have to wait until she and Jiraiya separated.
Facing two Sannin at once might lead to unnecessary trouble.
Right now, the Akatsuki was still growing.
Their tailed beast collection plan hadn't begun yet.
It wasn't the time to attract the attention and vigilance of the entire ninja world.
"For now… keep watching them closely."
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