Chapter 29

The entire complex of seals turned out to be quite extensive and required several hours of sitting still, but I managed it. The activation turned out to be a greater unpleasantness — I had to sacrifice almost my entire chakra reserve, and all this was accompanied by sharp pain.

As Ryuji explained, embedding into the channels always happened painfully, especially considering the overall frailty of my keirakukei and the unformed tenketsu at the moment. But now, I have a huge advantage over the vast majority of shinobi. Of course, genjutsu that work visually on the terrain will still function, but all the rest — no longer.

Lost in pleasant memories, I mechanically found my way through the crowd, and it's not surprising that eventually I bumped into someone. Recoiling from the collision, I couldn't stay on my feet and plopped down on the ground, quite landing on the soft spot.

***

Senju Toka was leisurely walking down the street towards her clan's domain, almost ignoring the bows and greetings of the surrounding people, who showed their respect for one of the few individuals who personally witnessed the creation of Konoha. But all of this was not important to the aging kunoichi, who at eighty-something barely looked half a century old. Her thoughts were occupied by the threat of the upcoming war, in which Leaf would ultimately be forced to engage, regardless of its leaders' desires.

The Senju clan always traditionally fought in the forefront of shinobi when the time for battle came, playing a significant role in the assault units of the army, as it was in the last World War. It was not only an honor but also a huge risk with a deadly outcome in most cases, significantly undermining the once numerous shinobi clan.

Now it numbered barely a third of the total that once populated the clan quarter on the day Konoha was founded, and even then, the majority were children not yet in their twenties. With the threat of a new large-scale war, the number of Toka's clanmates could decrease even further, if not disappear altogether.

In her time, the kunoichi witnessed the destruction of many clans, which no one remembers to this day, so there was nothing incredible about such an outcome. Especially, Toka was concerned about Sarutobi, who rose to power with Tobirama's last breath. No, he always treated his teacher's clanmates with pronounced respect, but there was a certain unpleasant feeling every time his gaze fell on the young shinobi then.

Later, that feeling disappeared, but the memory of it resurfaced every time the aging kunoichi interacted with Hiruzen. And the Senju always paid great attention to their feelings. Maybe a member of the Sarutobi clan is not who he wants to seem? And not so long ago, an unpleasant incident with a hint of Danzo's people raises certain thoughts...

Toka shook her head — no, such reflections would lead to nothing, only more capable of confusion! Whatever happens, happens. Her clan always believed in the Will of Fire and responsibility to the village. Whatever happens, happens. The Senju were always renowned for their loyalty and responsibility; all members of the clan understood this, and if necessary, they would go through a new war without counting the sweat...

The kunoichi's thoughts were interrupted when someone collided with her, quite sensibly banging their head into her stomach and with a barely audible surprised groan, flew back. The weight difference between the collided turned out to be too great.

Toka only slightly swayed and barely restrained the trained killer reflexes from responding to the unexpected attack. "Is age finally catching up — not to sense in reflections that someone is running at you?" wondered the kunoichi, looking down, where a small boy of five or six years old, with dark red hair tied into a thick braid, dressed in clothes with the Nara clan emblem, was trying to get up from the ground, having fallen onto all fours.

The collision obviously disoriented the little one, judging by the fact that he shook his head after flipping from his back.