Chương 24: Shadows of Senju

"If I had to say, there is only that clan."

"The Senju clan." Senju? Lost in thought, Itachi slipped off his shoes, setting the paper bag in the shadows of the entryway. Walking down the corridor, the sliding door to the tatami room parted silently, letting dim yellow light spill out to reveal the figure of Uchiha Fugaku.

"You're back?" Fugaku's voice echoed through the quiet residence, carrying less of his usual stern weight as clan leader and a touch more of a father's calm tone.

"Yes, Father." Itachi said. Fugaku's gaze settled on the paper bag.

"You bought something?"

"A gift from Shuji senpai." Itachi picked up the paper bag and handed it over. Fugaku took it, feeling the texture of the fabric through the paper.

"Hmm, that must have cost quite a bit." He raised his eyes to Itachi.

"Did he only buy it for you?"

"Anko-senpai received one as well."

"Is that so." Fugaku handed the bag back with steady hands.

"Since it is a gift from your captain, accept it properly." He paused.

"I will arrange a return gift later."

"Father," Itachi spoke, his tone inquiring.

"Hmm?"

"The Senju clan," Itachi looked directly at his father.

"Where did the Senju clan, who once stood equal with our Uchiha, go? There is no allocation for their clan compound in the village blueprints." The remaining softness faded from Fugaku's face, replaced by heavy gravity. He fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"They, the Senju, exist outside the lands of every shinobi clan, yet remain the Senju." Itachi's pupils narrowed. Fugaku continued, "That clan announced its dissolution back in the era of Lord Hashirama. Naturally, there is no 'Senju Compound' on the village maps." His eyes turned distant.

"Yet, every exceptional ninja you see who does not hail from a major clan could carry Senju blood." He paused, his voice deepening further.

"Even Lord Tobirama's disciples, the current elders Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura... one can never be certain..."

"Do you mean to say the Senju clan never actually dissolved, Father?" Itachi's voice was quiet. Fugaku shook his head slowly.

"The dissolution was real. Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama oversaw it personally, witnessed by every shinobi clan decades ago." He shifted his tone.

"However, after Lord Tobirama's death, there remained a highly respected figure among the former Senju. Because of her, a connection persisted between them. An invisible, unyielding bond."

"Lord Tsunade?" Itachi asked.

"No," Fugaku dismissed the guess.

"Lady Tsunade left the village long ago." He took a deep breath, his eyes dark.

"It is the former second-in-command to those two lords, Senju Touka." Touka... He instantly recalled his father's seemingly casual inquiry when hosting Shuji-senior: "I hear you have always lived in that old estate on the western outskirts of the village... raised and educated by Lady Touka herself?" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The picture suddenly became clear.

"Senior Shuji..." Itachi's voice carried realization.

"If nothing goes wrong," Fugaku's gaze locked onto Itachi, "the one who can maintain those people after Lady Touka... the one who commands that connection and influence..." He paused, pronouncing each word clearly, "should be your captain." The air in the room seemed to freeze. Fugaku leaned forward slightly, his voice low and heavy.

"Itachi, this is an opportunity for the Uchiha clan."... Morning light pierced through the thin mist over the Third Training Ground, dyeing the sand a soft gold. After several days of tactical drills, the field had the marks of Squad Shuji's progress.

"Left side! Itachi, disrupt him! Don't let him form seals!" Anko's shouted. Her charging form drew an afterimage across the sand, the hood of her dark purple trench coat fluttering like a streak of purple lightning. Her fingers wove seals rapidly.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Three grayish-brown snakes shot out from her sleeve, not striking the target post directly, but locking down its evasion paths to the left and right. Almost the instant she moved, Itachi appeared silently in the blind spot behind the wooden post. His two-tomoe Sharingan activated without a sound. Meeting the target's eyes, he launched a quick genjutsu without needing a word. The shadow clone acting as a dummy target froze in its tracks.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Shuji's voice sounded calmly, his position already shifting from his command point to the optimal angle of attack. A massive, searing fireball roared through the air, hitting the clone trapped by genjutsu and pinned by the snakes. Boom! Flames exploded, intense heat warping the air as the shadow clone dispersed in white smoke. The combo executed seamlessly.

"Stop," Shuji signaled. Anko stopped, breathing heavily as she wiped sweat from her brow. The listlessness from before was gone from her face, replaced by a ninja's sharp focus. Itachi deactivated his Sharingan, his breathing steady, as he walked to the edge of the field. Opening his leather notebook, he quickly noted the details of the combination and their chakra consumption data.

"The angle of the snake strikes can be tightened slightly to restrict hand seal space further," Shuji noted as he walked over to Anko.

"As for the trench coat hood, if it obstructs your vision while moving at high speeds, secure it or remove it. Practicality comes first." His gaze shifted to Itachi's notebook.

"Good detail. Your genjutsu timing was well-placed, and chakra control is more stable than yesterday." Anko tugged at her hood, muttering, "Got it, I'll fix it next time." Itachi gave a light nod and continued refining his notes. Days of training had acted like a file, grinding away their unfamiliarity piece by piece.

"Take fifteen minutes," Shuji said, sitting cross-legged under the shade of a tree. Anko sprinted over to grab her water, chugging several gulps before chewing on a biscuit. Itachi sat nearby drinking water, his eyes fixed on his notebook as he wrote several tactical points. Shuji closed his eyes. Though he led squad training by day, his night training had never ceased. His experiments with Wood Clones absorbing natural energy still carried a high failure rate.

Seven or eight times out of ten, the clone's internal structure would lose balance and woodify, eventually petrifying under the violent backlash of natural energy. Yet each failure gave him a clearer sense of that omnipresent, elusive force. Natural energy... It was not like chakra, derived from physical and spiritual energy within living beings. It felt more like the primal, vast foundation of the world itself. Wild, yet filled with vital life force.

Perhaps the direction is correct, but something is still missing to complete it... Shuji pondered internally. His Senju bloodline and Hashirama cells granted him a foundation far beyond ordinary men, but taking in and converting natural energy remained just out of reach.

"Senpai," Itachi's clear voice stopped his thoughts, "regarding the combo earlier, if the enemy is a sensor ninja who evades the genjutsu ahead of time, should we adjust the follow-up fire cover?" Shuji opened his eyes and took the notebook Itachi offered, which held clean diagrams and tactical breakdowns.

"Good question. We should adjust the backup plan to include..." Training continued through constant discussion of tactics and live sparring. As the sun rose higher, casting short shadows across the sand, Anko's snake jutsu and Itachi's Sharingan genjutsu meshed with growing fluidity, backed by Shuji's timely elemental support. A rough yet effective tactical system built on mutual trust was slowly taking shape.

When the midday heat grew intense, a silhouette stepped silently into the tree shade at the edge of the field as if stepping out of the light itself. The newcomer wore an animal mask and standard ANBU uniform, his presence is entirely unnoticed.

"Jonin Shuji," a flat voice called through the mask, quiet yet taking clearly over the training sounds. Shuji stopped correcting Anko's taijutsu stance and turned. Itachi and Anko stopped immediately, watching the visitor with sharp alertness.

"The Hokage requests your presence," the ANBU reported briefly.