CHAPTER 222: A MILD GLOW FROM THE COMPOUND, AND SUDDENLY EVERYONE HAS FLASHBACKS

The moment the dome over the Senju compound flared to life, a few in the village felt it immediately.

~

Hokage Office

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone in his office, his gaze distant, his thoughts lingering on the quiet storms brewing over the past few days. He had known this day would come perhaps not today, perhaps not like this but he had prepared for it in his own way, by delaying it, always delaying it.

Because when that day arrived, he would have to choose.

Was he still the Third Hokage, the one who bore the weight of the village? Or was he still Sarutobi Hiruzen, the young boy who once laughed with his teammates and swore to be the strongest ninja in the world?

He knew what the right answer should be. His brain had whispered it long ago. But the words never made it to his lips.

Because he too, at the end of the day, was only human.

A pulse of chakra cut through his reverie. It was subtle and ancient, yet commanding. He stiffened as his instincts flared. He moved to the window and glanced out.

Then he saw it. It was faint but unmistakable, a dome of chakra shimmering gently over the Senju compound.

He exhaled and slowly reached into his robes, pulled out his pipe and lit it with practiced ease.

The smoke curled up and drifted into the air as he stared in silence at the resurrected barrier, a seal that had remained dormant for decades was finally visible again.

Hiruzen didn’t need to guess.

It was the Senju clan’s house barrier, a full-coverage barrier array unlike anything else in the village. It was elegant, unbreakable and far, far beyond anything even he could create in his prime.

This was Mito Uzumaki’s work.

And even now, after all these years, her seals still held, untouched by time. Hiruzen took another long drag of his pipe, letting the smoke settle the tension in his shoulders.

He had always been considered a level six Fuinjutsu master, revered for his understanding of sealing arts. But if he was level six, then Mito Uzumaki had stood in an entirely different world. Her mastery wasn’t something he could match. Not then, not ever.

Even the barrier that protected the entirety of Konoha was still active, still unbreached and that too had been woven by her alone.

He had once asked her, half-jokingly, if level seven truly existed. She never answered, she only smiled which left him with even more questions.

But now, there were no Uzumaki left to ask.

He took a final glance at the dome and sighed again, softer this time.

’So it’s started.’

Ren had claimed the Senju house.

But the house was empty.

And if Hiruzen knew the boy at all, and he liked to think he did, then Ren would already be working to find what had been taken from it and when he did, he’d come here.

To talk.

This time, Hiruzen wouldn’t be able to brush it off with vague smiles or mentorly words. That era had passed. The boy had grown too sharp, too fast and had become far too unpredictable.

And while Hiruzen wasn’t afraid of Ren’s strength... he feared something else.

He feared the shape of Ren’s future.

Because if what he suspected came true, if the vision forming before his eyes became real then whoever stood in that boy’s way would come to regret it, deeply. He’d already seen the writing on the wall with Danzo and Koharu. Their fates had been warnings, not accidents.

Even though he still had authority, and still held power.

He didn’t want to become another name on that list.

He returned to his seat, pipe between his fingers, a new tightness in his jaw. For the first time in years, he didn’t hope for someone to knock on the door to pull him away from work.

For once, paperwork felt safer.

Safer than waiting for the storm that was now walking steadily toward him, no longer a boy, no longer quiet, now he was carrying the name of a clan the world had nearly forgotten.

A clan that had just stood tall again.

~~~

Hyuga Clan Compound

Meeting Hall

The moment the barrier surrounding the Senju compound activated, the Hyuga were among the first to take notice, not because of any expertise in Fuinjutsu, but simply because of their eyes. The Byakugan pierced through layers of concealment with ease, and many Hyuga were stationed in the village’s sensory division. Something as old and powerful as the Senju’s ancestral barrier returning to life after all these years, it didn’t go unnoticed for even a second.

As soon as it flared into existence, the information was sent back up the chain, quiet and fast. It didn’t take long for the clan to realize the weight of what had just happened. The Senju weren’t just returning. They were staking claim too.

An emergency meeting of the main branch elders was called within the hour.

In the Hyuga compound’s central meeting room, the clan’s core leadership gathered. Every elder of the main branch was present, their expressions grim, seated in front of Hiashi Hyuga, the current clan head.

He sat in silence for a moment, eyes steady, before finally beginning. "I believe everyone here already knows what happened," Hiashi said, his voice calm.

"But for the record, I’ll state it clearly, The Senju clan compound has been officially reclaimed. The barrier has been activated by Ren Senju, the last heir of the main line."

He paused briefly, letting the words settle and continued after no one spoke.

"This doesn’t directly affect us, at least not on the surface. But the consequences of this could run deeper than we expect. I’ve asked Elder Koshiro to explain the implications."

Koshiro Hyuga was an elder who had served as the head of the Hyuga clan’s business channels for nearly two decades. He was more economist than fighter these days, but when it came to the money flow inside the village, there were few who understood it better.

He bowed slightly to Hiashi and stood.

"A few months ago," he began, "the clan head informed me that the Hokage’s office had returned the Senju clan’s property deeds. At the time, I expected a shift, maybe a power grab, so I prepared for a potential hit. But for months, there was nothing. No sign of the heir. No change in operations. Even the businesses under their name were still being run by the village, just as before. So I assumed the threat had passed."

He looked up, expression grim. "Today made it clear that it hadn’t."

He glanced around at the elders before continuing.

"Senju Heir’s return wasn’t quiet. He came in with a parade and with a statement. The activation of that barrier wasn’t a homecoming. It was a declaration. That compound isn’t just occupied, it’s active and if the heir intends to reclaim the rest of the Senju assets, then this is only the beginning."

He took out a folder and flipped it open.

"To give context, back when the Second Hokage devised the village’s internal economic framework, the shops were distributed like this, 40% went to the village government, 15% to the Senju clan, 12% to the Uchiha, 10% to us, and the remaining 23% to all other clans combined."

There were nods around the room. Every elder here had been raised with that breakdown in mind.

"But after the Senju clan was officially declared dormant, their properties were quietly absorbed. The village took 5% of their share, the Uchiha claimed 3%, and we took 2%. The rest was divvied up among the smaller clans."

He paused again.

"If the Senju reclaim those properties now as I believe they will, we’ll be legally obligated to return that 2%. On paper, it doesn’t sound like much. But in practice, that’s a massive income stream. Enough to pay the annual rent on every single one of our shops in the village to the Senju Clan which we didn’t need to do before."

There were murmurs of discontent at that. One of the younger elders, newly appointed in his late twenties, frowned.

"Why do we even pay rent to the Senju in the first place?" he asked, clearly irritated. "It’s the village. Shouldn’t village land belong to the village?"

Hiashi’s eyes met his, unblinking. "Because the village was built on their land," he said plainly. "And legally, it still is. The land deed of Konohagakure, every road, every shop, every training ground was signed under the Senju name. Back when the village was formed, the Senju were its spine and its owners."

"And if Ren claims that deed?" another elder asked cautiously.

"Then the Senju won’t just be back," Hiashi replied. "They’ll be the landlords of Konoha."

The room fell into silence. For the first time in decades, the Hyuga weren’t looking at the Senju with pity, or indifference.

They were looking at a clan that had the power to own them all.

Hiashi shook his head slowly, his expression unreadable, and then turned his gaze toward Elder Koshiro. With a nod, he gave him the floor once again.

Koshiro straightened up and continued, "As the clan leader said, once the Senju heir officially reclaims the land deed of the Hidden Leaf, the consequences will not stop at a simple redistribution of property or business shares. No, it goes beyond that. The financial blow we’ll receive will be long-term."

He took a breath, then went on. "You see, during the time the Senju clan was considered dormant, we weren’t obligated to pay rent for any of the clan-owned lands we used. Why? Because technically, the village didn’t own the land. The Senju clan did. But since they weren’t around to claim or enforce it, the matter was shelved, and the village continued operations as usual. No legal rent, no interference. And as long as the Senju didn’t make a move, we profited."

Koshiro looked around the table, making sure everyone was following. "The only reason the Hokage’s office wasn’t paying rent either was because decades ago, the Senju granted them a permanent exemption, a lifetime waiver on rent as a symbolic gesture, since it was their will that allowed the village to be created in the first place."

Another elder raised a hand, speaking with a puzzled tone, "So, you’re saying the village had no control over the rents during all these years?"

It was one of the oldest elders present who responded this time. His voice was slow but heavy with the weight of years and memory. "That’s correct. As per the old founding treaty, the village only has the right to claim a portion of the rent, 25 percent to be precise, but only after the Senju clan collects it. That is, the Senju takes their share first. Then, and only then, the village is allowed to claim its cut from the remainder."

He paused for a moment, letting that sink in before he continued, "Some of you here were born and raised during the time when the Senju had faded from power, and I worry that time has dulled the understanding of their true status.

Let me be perfectly clear, the Senju owned this village. Not just figuratively but in every sense. Whatever they wanted to do, they could do. If this village were a kingdom, then the Senju were the undisputed kings. The village didn’t exist until they decided to create it. Never forget that."

A moment of silence followed, before one of the newer elders, clearly younger, uncertain, asked cautiously, "But... what about the Uchiha clan? Weren’t they one of the founding clans too?"

The older elder turned his sharp eyes toward him and replied with a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes, "Yes. They were. But let me ask you something. In the entire history of the Hidden Leaf, four Hokage, now the fifth would be taking over in a few years, have you ever seen an Uchiha Hokage? Or even a Hokage who had close ties with the Uchiha?"

The younger elder paused, then shook his head. "No... I haven’t."

The old man nodded grimly. "Exactly. The Uchiha were a founding clan, yes. But that legacy was shattered the day Madara Uchiha turned against the village. From that moment forward, the Uchiha lost not just power, but trust, influence and legitimacy. The rest of their history in the village has been damage control ever since.

The Senju, on the other hand, won. And once they did, Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage created a system that prioritized two things, stability of the village, and supremacy of the Senju."

He looked around at the other elders again. "That system benefited the Senju first, the village second... and the Uchiha last."

There was a growing stillness in the room. Some elders leaned back, others sat forward in concern, all of them slowly realizing the deeper implications of the Senju’s return.

Another voice spoke up, uncertain but curious. "But... wasn’t their power back then because of the sheer strength they had? That was the real difference, wasn’t it? They had unmatched power, so they ruled."

He hesitated before continuing, "That’s not the case now, right? The Senju only have two people left. Tsunade Senju, the Slug Princess and Ren Senju, the Azure Dragon. Can just the two of them really reclaim that kind of dominance? If all the major clans came together, united against them, what could they realistically do?"

Hiashi finally spoke, voice quieter than before but laced with something colder.

"You’re making a mistake," he said plainly. "You’re forgetting his first name."

He looked each elder in the eye.

"Before the world called him the Azure Dragon, they called him something else. The Blue Menace."

A ripple of unease passed through the room.

Hiashi’s tone sharpened. "That name wasn’t just given to him by enemies out of fear. We, the council also approved of this name The Anbu, the Clan Heads, even the Hokage’s office. That wasn’t a decoration, that wasn’t flattery. That was warning. Because that’s what he was. That’s what he still is."

He exhaled slowly, gathering his thoughts before speaking again.

"You want to know what we’d be dealing with? Let me give you a clearer picture of the boy you’re so casually underestimating."

~~~~~

{We’ll finally see what Ren is like from other perspectives who have no relation to him and won’t see things from one lens.}

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{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }

{You know what else}

{280 Stones = Extra Chapter}

{STONES!!!!}