Chapter 59: Break Through The Senju Clan?
Yoru stood on the Hokage Rock.
In the telescope, the Senju Compound was peaceful.
Yoru carefully memorized the architectural layout of the Senju Compound.
This massive courtyard was divided into left, center, and right paths.
The center path consisted of seven successive courtyards.
The first four courtyards held the Senju Clan’s public buildings, including the ancestral hall, meeting hall, archives, and other office areas.
These places were sometimes open to the public, so Yoru easily found information on these buildings.
In the last three courtyards, he didn’t know which one belonged to Clan Head Senju Rinki or which one to Mito Uzumaki.
On the 14th, he didn’t know where Senju Rinki would be—if outside, find a way to ambush him; if in the compound, first figure out where he lived.
The left and right paths of the Senju Compound were also seven successive courtyards, with denser housing and fewer main halls.
On the east and west sides of the seven courtyards, there were rows of single-story barracks each over 200 meters long.
In this massive complex lived over a thousand members of the Senju Clan.
Beyond the seven courtyards were large training grounds, with an area about one-third that of the seven courtyards.
Yoru sighed inwardly—did he really have to fight through the entire Senju Clan?
He soon made a new discovery: there were three-man patrol teams inside the Senju Compound.
In the alleys between courtyards, there were many patrolling ninja.
Not only that, the patrolling ninja would disappear under certain pavilions—those were hidden sentries in the Senju Compound.
There were still over twenty days for investigation; he would surely find an opportunity.
Descending from the Hokage Rock, Yoru saw a group of people exiting the Hokage Building and was startled.
It was Senju Rinki and his guards.
On second thought, Yoru felt there was no need to be afraid—he hadn’t gone to assassinate Senju Rinki yet, so why fear him?
Yoru was now a core Anbu force with impeccable credentials.
Glancing at Senju Rinki, he had six guards around him.
Those guards all had resolute expressions; they were elites of the Senju Clan.
Returning to Tsuruzuki Izakaya, Yoru ordered three bottles of sake and drank in silence.
Seeing Yoru in low spirits, Qiao Yi teasingly played footsie with him under the table to cheer him up.
“Stop it, Qiao Yi—come tonight; there are so many customers in the shop.”
Qiao Yi rolled her eyes at Yoru and walked away, her large, round, perky butt swaying.
A middle-aged man leaning on a crutch entered the izakaya.
He had a broad, square face and well-developed neck muscles, but unfortunately a broken leg—he must have been a powerful ninja in his youth.
What drew Yoru’s attention more was the clan emblem on his clothes: the Senju of the Forest emblem.
Yoru had seen him before—a regular at the izakaya, the retired ninja Senju Ka.
Senju Ka entered the izakaya and saw his friend Kamachi waving from the bar, so he crutched over.
Yoru tossed back two bottles of sake in a row and also headed to the bar.
“Qiao Yi! Don’t be mad—I was wrong.”
Nearby, Senju Ka and Kamachi saw the young couple flirting and laughed.
Senju Ka even said, “Young man, I’ve been there—cherish this girl; you’ll be living the good life.”
Kamachi said, “Can anything beat marrying a Senju woman for bliss?”
Senju Ka said, “What, still sore about not marrying my older sister back in the day?”
“Yeah, too bad she sacrificed herself fourteen years ago, or I definitely would’ve married her.”
A thick longing appeared on Senju Ka’s face—his older sister had died young in the First Great Ninja War.
Kamachi added, “Too bad your younger sister sacrificed herself twelve years ago too, or she wouldn’t have been out of the question—I’m easygoing, not picky.”
“You bastard!”
Senju Ka swung his amputated leg, and the short stump kicked Kamachi off the high stool.
Kamachi wasn’t annoyed; he got up laughing, “Didn’t expect you to still pack such a punch—good thing your leg’s gone, or I really couldn’t beat you.”
The two middle-aged men bantered noisily.
Kamachi, afraid Senju Ka would insist on proving his strength endlessly, quickly said, “Why’d you call me here? Get to business—I don’t have time to reminisce with a retired ninja like you.”
Senju Ka’s expression suddenly changed, and he said:
“You’re the jonin leader for my son Senju Kashi, his teacher—go sound him out for me.
Kashi just returned from a mission in the Land of Grass last night and locked himself in his room.
No matter how I ask, he won’t talk—I sense something’s off with his mood.”
Kamachi said, “I know your son very well—he’s strong-willed; how could one mission make him shut himself away?”
Senju Ka sighed and said:
“His mission record is excellent; he’s completed several A-rank missions. I asked the clan to apply for his promotion to special jonin and even want him as a clan head guard.
His mental state is off—I’m afraid he’s developing mental illness.”
“Impossible.” Kamachi said firmly:
“On his first mission away from the village under my lead, he killed two Sand Ninja.
In all missions since, he’s never shown any emotional fluctuation from bloodshed—he’s an excellent ninja.
He has special jonin strength at 19; he’ll definitely be promoted to jonin before
He won’t get mental illness—only the weak get tormented by fear into mental problems.”
“Go talk to him—enough talk.”
“Fine, fine—I’ll chat with him. I’ll set up a meet here tomorrow. Drink up today—you Senju rich folk are treating; I’m drinking freely.”
While flirting with Qiao Yi, Yoru carefully listened to their entire conversation.
What interested Yoru most was this one-legged Senju Ka, who wanted his son to become a clan head guard.
The next day, Yoru waited early in the izakaya.
Kamachi soon came in and sat at the bar drinking.
In the latter half of the night, a tall young man walked in.
He had a full beard, unkempt. His eyelids drooped from severe insomnia, with heavy dark circles.
“Kashi, over here!”
Senju Kashi looked up, saw his teacher Kamachi, and slowly walked over.
Kamachi kept saying encouraging words, but Kashi just stared fixedly at the sake cup in front of him.
“Kashi, pull yourself together—your mother came from the Uzumaki Clan and sacrificed early for Konoha. For your father, you can’t mope. Tell me your thoughts; I’ll help you.”
Kashi suddenly looked up, his eyes full of ferocity, then shifted to confusion and bewilderment.
He tilted his head and whispered something in his teacher’s ear.
Yoru saw Kamachi’s pupils contract sharply, his face incredulous.
“No! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” After the initial shock, the teacher asked, “Did you tell your father about this?”
“No, I didn’t dare.”
“Good—don’t say anything yet. This isn’t for you to handle. I’ll find a way to verify if it’s true, then tell your father. Go home first—don’t mope, don’t act unusual.”
“Got it.”
The two left.
Yoru carefully recalled the details he observed.
Senju Kashi only changed attitude suddenly after his teacher mentioned his mother coming from Hidden Whirlpool Village to Konoha.
You can’t hide fire in paper—no matter how secretly Danzo acted, it would eventually show.
Yoru suspected Kashi had contacted Uzumaki Remnants in the Land of Grass.
He kept pondering if he could use this information to create an opportunity to approach Senju Rinki.
