Legacy of the Senju.(EDITED)

She turned to me—eyes wide, breath shallow.

"Ren… do you even have any idea what you've just done?"

I blinked innocently. "I just combined natural energy with my water and earth chakra."

I wasn't lying—not completely. But I wasn't exactly telling the full truth either.

Tsunade was too overwhelmed to notice. She exhaled heavily, trying to process what she had seen. Then, with a gravity in her tone I hadn't heard before, she began to speak.

She told me about the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju—my ancestor.

How he was the only one in all history to awaken Wood Release, and how it became one of the most revered and feared Kekkei Genkai in the ninja world.

She described how Hashirama had defeated Madara Uchiha, even while he wielded the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and controlled the Nine Tails.

How Hashirama captured all nine Tailed Beasts with his Wood Release alone—its innate chakra suppression making it uniquely powerful against bijuu.

Then came the politics.

How Hashirama, in the name of peace, distributed the Tailed Beasts to other villages. How he eventually succumbed to an unknown illness, long before the First Great Ninja War began.

"No one could kill him," Tsunade said quietly. "His regeneration, his chakra reserves… he was invincible. But in the end, even he… couldn't escape time."

After a long silence, she took me deep into the Senju compound—into a sealed room I had never been allowed to enter before.

There, I saw two massive wooden pillars, standing like ancient guardians. Carved into them were names:

First Hokage: Hashirama Senju

Second Hokage: Tobirama Senju

I knew they were my grandfather and grand-uncle—just like Tsunade.

But I had never felt the weight of that legacy… until now.

Tsunade stood quietly between the two pillars, her expression solemn.

"This," she said, "is how we honor them."

Of course, I knew these weren't their actual graves. The bodies had long since been lost to war and history. But something about the presence of the pillars, the stillness in the room… it made me feel like they were here anyway.

She looked at Tobirama's pillar.

"He was the strongest water-style user in history. Disciplined. Brutal. Strategic."

Her voice cracked slightly. "He died protecting the team... ambushed by the Hidden Cloud's elite forces—Kinkaku and Ginkaku. But before that, he created most of the modern jutsu still used today."

I nodded, trying to match her reverence. But my mind was racing.

So this is the weight of my bloodline...

Not just chakra. Not just strength.

But legacy.

After a long moment, Tsunade turned to me.

"There's only the two of us now," she said. "We're all that's left of the Senju Clan. And we need to bring our name… our legacy… back into the light."

I looked up at her.

There was fire in her eyes. Not grief. Not pain.

Hope.

And… yeah, I may have had one or two stray thoughts about Tsunade that I had to quickly chase out of my head.

Moving on.

She made me swear never to use Wood Release outside the Senju compound, not unless she gave me direct permission. I agreed without hesitation. I already knew how dangerous this secret could be.

When we left the hall, Tsunade was already moving with purpose. The first thing she did?

Purge the guards.

She called every shinobi stationed at the compound for "reassignment"—and then proceeded to kick out anyone she even slightly suspected of being a Root spy.

Some tried to argue, claiming they were there under orders from the Hokage.

But Tsunade was done playing nice.

"I'll turn your faces into paste and send the pieces to Danzo if you don't leave now," she said coldly.

That did the trick.

They vanished.

One by one.

Gone without a word.

Only a small core remained—shinobi and civilians she trusted completely.

Later that day, she returned to me with something unexpected.

A scroll.

She handed it over with care.

"This belonged to my grandfather. It contains his notes on Wood Release… and its connection to senjutsu."

I opened it slowly. The scroll was old, but meticulously preserved.

It didn't have jutsu formulas—just descriptions, theories, training methods, and foundational principles for learning to manipulate life itself.

It even explained how natural energy amplifies the growth potential of wood chakra, and that Wood Release isn't just an element… it's a bridge between chakra and nature itself.

After reading it once, I instinctively reached to hand it back.

But Tsunade shook her head.

"Keep it. Train with it. Master it.

The world's not ready to see you… but one day, they will."

She left shortly after to meet the Hokage.

I stayed behind. Alone.

Scroll in hand. Bloodline awakened.

I had six months left before entering the Academy.

My first goal was clear:

Draw out the roots of a tree.

Manipulate them freely.

Bend nature to my will.

Hashirama once tamed beasts with a glance.

If I wanted to live up to that legacy…

This was just the beginning.

(Author's Note):

Ren's next stage begins now—training Wood Release in secret while the world looks the other way.

Let me know what you'd love to see in Chapter 10!

— Dreaming_Dragon97