The Enlightened One Ch.71

— Samui (Several Days Later) —

Samui frowned while sitting with her team in the tower. She had so much on her mind and so many questions, yet she didn’t know if it was right for her to have those questions answered. 

After all, the answer lay in her target's mind: Lei Senju. 

“You’ve been quiet, Samui.” Karui glanced at her. 

“I’m always quiet,” Samui answered with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean unusually so.” Karui corrected herself.

Samui looked away, locking her attention on Lei Senju, who was sitting with another Konoha shinobi—his team, two others, and the pink-haired girl—the same group that engaged in the battle with the Konoha Traitors. 

Karui followed Samui’s gaze and the brown-skinned woman let out a low hum. 

“Samui, you’ll draw attention to us if you stare so blatantly like that.”

Samui looked back at Karui and frowned. 

“He’d be a fool to have not realized our true intentions yet. In fact, I’d be surprised if he hadn’t known the other villages would come for his head before the exams even began.”

Karui went silent at that blatant explanation, and Samui returned her attention to their target.

Her mind returned to how quickly Lei Senju dispatched the traitor, Taro. She, her team, and the stone team had arrived at the battle and watched the Konoha do everything in their power to take down the Sharingan-wielding traitor, yet Lei Senju showed up for five seconds and completely overwhelmed the double agent. 

It didn’t even look like he exerted himself either in the process. He suffered no injuries from that battle, even if the previous battle left him worse for wear. 

Yes, Lei Senju was a threat, one neither the Cloud nor the Stone could handle, at least not with their current numbers. 

Lord A would understand if they failed their mission. The Senju simply amassed more power than anticipated and would need a higher-powered shinobi sent after him, hoping to eliminate him. 

Although Samui knew Lord A wouldn’t want to do that.

The whole point of eliminating Lei Senju here was to make it look less like he was a target and more like he was a casualty of the Chunin Exams. Should they have completed their mission, Konoha could not complain or raise arms for war, as the Fire Daimyo wouldn’t see any foul play in it. The Chunin Exams were instilled by the Second Hokage to introduce lower-ranked shinobi to war for a reason, and complaining about a mishap in a tradition Konoha created would be seen as nothing more than whining. 

Failing here would mean they wouldn’t get a chance to remove Lei Senju consequence free. Konoha would most definitely wage war if they attempted to take his life unprovoked, and they’d definitely do it if the Cloud managed to kill him.

Samui’s gaze slid from Lei Senju to the women around him.

Hinata Hyuga, Naruko Uzumaki…

Satsuki Uchiha.

Those three were powerful, future powerhouses to look out for if left unchecked. Lord Bee already informed them of Naruko Uzumaki’s hidden power. The Kyuubi. The Strongest and most dangerous of all the Tailed Beasts.

As for Hinata Hyuga, the Heir to the Hyuga clan, a powerful kunoichi in her own right with deadly accurate taijutsu, skillful ninjutsu and sealing. She was someone that Samui knew she’d lose to.

Then, there was Satsuki Uchiha. The one Samui considered the strongest of the group, and it was all because of one reason.

Those black flames. 

She was there, she watched as Taro burned to those very flames. The same flames that started with no warning at the size of a pea, but quickly spread across his whole body, and only once his body was reduced to nothing, burnt away from existence, did the flames stop spreading and dissipate like they were never there.

Yes, Satsuki Uchiha was dangerous, more so than the other two, and with both Naruko Uzumaki and Satsuki Uchiha on Lei Senju’s team, it would be impossible to catch all of them unaware long enough to take down their target. Less likely would they be able to best them in combat. 

This mission was a failure, but that didn’t mean Samui couldn’t satisfy her curiosity, and if that helped her village, all the better.

She stood up from her seat, ignoring the widened eyes of Omoi and Karui as she made her way over to Lei Senju’s table. The Konoha shinobi noticed her approach and eyed her warily as she stopped just in front of the target. 

She stared down at him with her cold blue eyes, and he stared up at her with equally cold green eyes, until his eyes left hers and dropped just under her face. Samui raised an eyebrow and followed his eyes-

…Typical. All men are the same. Yet, as befitting of her Kunoichi training, she knew she could use that fact to her advantage. Seduction was as powerful a weapon as any jutsu, although things would have to get to a critical point before she seriously considered resorting to it. 

“Lei Senju.” Samui said coldly.

“...You.” 

Samui frowned. “You do not know my name?”

“Do I?” He asked, bringing a hand to his chin. “Hang on a second, it's been a while.” 

Lei began pondering, looking up at the ceiling in thought, and all the while the Konoha shinobi kept their eyes on her, keeping their guards up.

“Samui, right?”

The busty blonde’s frown disappeared, being replaced with a neutral face. “So you do know my name.”

“Nice. I got it in one.” Lei nodded, looking proud of himself.

“I wish to speak with you.” Samui continued, ignoring his most recent words.

“We’re speaking now.” Lei blinked.

“Alone.” She clarified.

“Not happening.” 

Samui turned to see Hinata Hyuga glaring at her with those cold white eyes of hers. Truly, Hyuga were quite the intimidating shinobi when they wanted to be. 

“What Hinata said.” Another girl spoke up, a blonde whose hair was a lighter shade than her own. Samui eyed her for a bit, trying to recall who she was before recognition filled her eyes. 

Ino Yamanaka, Heir to the Yamanaka clan. Another one to look out for. 

“Your responses are unwelcomed; I was speaking to Lei Senju.”

“And we’re answering for him.” Shikamaru Nara, Heir to the Nara clan side-eyed her. “Get lost.”

Samui remained quiet for a while before looking back at Lei Senju. She did not care for their answers, but if Lei Senju didn’t speak for himself, she would take their words as his.

“Eh, fine.” Lei stood up much to the surprise of the Konoha shinobi. “You got five minutes.”

“Lei, what are you doing?!” Ino asked the question all of them wanted to know.

“What?” Lei raised an eyebrow. “I’m just gonna have a talk with this Cloud Shinobi.”

“But what if she…” Sakura Haruno, the clanless girl, started before looking at Samui’s cold eyes and frowning. “Are you sure, Lei?”

“Positive. I’ll be back in a bit.” He said, looking at Samui. “Lead the way.”

Samui eyed him for a moment before giving a small nod and walking away. 

After truly exchanging words with him, Samui’s first impression was that he was a bit nonchalant and lazy at first glance, but nonetheless, he was agreeable. 

They walked out of the room and down a hall before turning into another room. Samui turned around and faced her target, eyeing him up and down.

“If you called me here just to get a better look at me, then this was a serious waste of my time.” Lei frowned, before his eyes fell back down to her chest. “Well…maybe not completely. 

Add perverted to the list of character traits. And seduction was looking to be the most effective way to get him by the minute considering his ever growing power. 

“No, I truly wished to speak with you.” Samui looked him in the eyes, uncaring that he was still staring at her breasts. “Do you not have women?”

“Oh, you know about that?” Lei asked, genuinely curious. 

“I asked you a question first, Lei Senju.” Samui narrowed her eyes. 

Lei raised an eyebrow and stood a bit more rigid than before. Samui could feel it, the air around him had changed. His once nonchalant attitude was replaced by a powerful and cold air, and his eyes grew more icy than she’d ever seen.

“You called me here. The fact that I came at all means I deserve to have a question answered first. How do you know about my relationships?.” 

A bead of sweat ran down Samui’s forehead, but she didn’t outwardly show any fear in his presence. Even if the fact that he could kill her and likely suffer little to no consequence at any moment lingered in the back of her mind.

“Do you really need me to answer that question? Is it not an unwritten rule for every village to send spies to others? Even without such tactics, seeing as you spend most of your time around three women in particular, and you’re of a nearly extinct clan, it is not impossible to assume you’re courting three different women.” Samui provided professionally.

Lei stared coldly at her for a few more seconds before suddenly, the powerful air around him dropped as if it were never there. 

“Yeah, I expected as much. I can never be too careful though, right?” He smiled, making Samui sweat a bit more. The way he returned to his nonchalant self…

This wasn’t just some genin. The air around him was similar to the air Lord A had. She should have expected as much from the heir of the God of Shinobi.

“Anyway, to answer your question, yes I have women I love. Three of them as you previously mentioned.”

“Then why do you insist on staring at my bust?” Samui followed up quickly, relaxing a bit now that they were resuming their original purpose for being here.

“While my girls would likely scold me a bit for staring at another woman, they wouldn’t be too affected beyond that. Being one of the last Senju’s means I need to repopulate my clan some way, and my girls have already accepted that fact, and have allowed me to take other women should I wish to.”

The gears in Samui’s head started turning at those words.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Samui pushed, even though she already had a guess as to what his answer was. 

Lei tilted his head. “You have nice tits, so I’m staring. I won’t be penalized for it, and you’d make a wonderful mother to my children; what do you say?” 

Samui deadpanned at the boy’s joking tone. She knew the first half of what he said was serious, but the offer to be one of his women wasn’t something he meant. 

“I suppose that answer is acceptable.” Samui frowned. “Next question: Kuzan and Taro, who were they to you?” 

Samui’s eyes narrowed at the Senju when she mentioned the boys’ names. Even though he tried to hide it, she saw the small flinch he made hearing those names. 

“You really know how to make someone pissed, woman.” He glared at her, although to her surprise, the cold, powerful air he once exuded didn’t return. 

“I am merely asking a question I have interest in knowing the answer to.” 

“Why should I answer your question when I have nothing to gain from it?” Lei answered back.

Samui placed her hands on her hips, and the moment she did, Lei’s gaze dropped down to her bust once more. 

Seriously, this boy was something else. Even Omoi didn’t look this much. He was confident, she’d give him that. And her.. Assets were showing themselves to be an effective way to deal with him.

“You don’t have to answer anything,” Samui said with an expressionless face. 

Lei returned his gaze to hers, staring deep into her ocean-blue eyes for a long while. As she stared back into his green eyes, she had to admit; that they reminded her a lot of the green leaves on the trees surrounding Konoha. 

“They were my friends; we were raised in an orphanage together, them and I.” Lei started, his eyes never leaving hers. “Then, when I left the orphanage, we were still classmates in the Academy. I grew up with them.” He finished with a deep frown and tilted his head slightly. “Why did you want to know?”

“To satisfy my curiosity,” Samui answered immediately, increasing Lei’s frown. 

“Can you actually answer my question and not deflect it?”

She nodded. She hadn’t thought her answer would come across that way, but looking back, she could see how it did. 

“To get a better judgment of you and your character.” Samui clarified. She saw how he was so ready and willing to kill Taro, and he likely would have if not for Satsuki Uchiha reducing him to nothing. 

“What, so you can kill me?” He asked, his eyes growing colder.

Samui paused at that but quickly spoke. “No. Not anymore.” She shook her head. “I wish to know what kind of man you are for myself, not for my village or my Kage.” She left out the fact that if he parts with some information that will benefit them, then all the better. 

Lei remained quiet for a moment before crossing his arms over his lean-muscled chest. 

“Then why are you so interested in me?” He asked suddenly, catching her off guard.

“I…don’t know.” She answered truthfully. “I was hoping that learning more about you would answer that question for me, but the more I learn about you, the more I wish to dig.”

“Well, this hole ain’t gonna go on forever. You got two minutes left.” Lei frowned. 

“That is acceptable. Tell me, why didn’t you listen to your friends when they advised against you coming with me?”

“Because I’m not a follower. Nor am I so ignorant to think that all enemy shinobi have bad intentions. I’m a man who believes that learning about your enemies is the best way to make amends.”

Samui blinked at that. “Make amends?”

“Yes, do you not know what amends means?” Lei asked with a genuine frown. 

“No…no, I know what it means.” Samui coughed into her hand. 

She knew she was close. Just that last answer let her know a great deal about what kind of person Lei Senju was.

“Last question.” Samui took a few steps forward and stopped just in front of Lei. Once again, the air around him changed, and a bead of sweat fell from her forehead, and try as she might, she couldn’t hide the tinge of fear she felt from showing on her face. “W-What are your dreams for the future?” 

Lei stared down at her with cold eyes, staring into her blue orbs, no, deeper into her very soul as he spoke.

“To change this wicked world and bring it peace. Anything less than that will be a failure in my eyes.” He answered curtly. 

Samui remained looking in her eyes, simply because his presence demanded she remain still, or even the slightest movement would be her last. 

Then, suddenly, Lei turned around and walked away.

“Hah-” Samui breathed out as Lei neared the door. 

“Times up, good chat. We should do this again sometime, big tits.” And with those words he rounded the corner and left, leaving Samui alone. 

He…He’s strong, but she already knew that. No, she learned much more valuable information; she learned about his character. 

As Samui stared at where she last saw Lei before he turned the corner, a small, almost unnoticeable smile tugged at her lips.

At the very least, she could be happy with the failure of their mission. 

Lei Senju was not an enemy, not unless they made him one, and that made him someone she could respect. 

— Kurotsuchi —

The Princess of the Stone Village remained hidden as Samui walked out of the room and back to her team. 

Of course Kurotsuchi had eavesdropped on the two’s little interrogation, Lei is her target afterall! 

She needed to learn everything she could about the Wood Release user, and what better way than listening in on a private chat while going unnoticed-

Only… she hadn’t.

Her mind flashed back to Lei leaving the room, and as he was about to turn and walk in the other direction, he looked her way and grinned.

How the hell did he know she was there?! 

She put up a genjutsu for crying out loud! 

Even though she wasn’t the best at genjutsu, it was a very good one simply because of how unnoticeable it was. She didn’t even change anything about the building, it was all the same! So how?! 

Kurotsuchi clenched her fists as she leaned against the wall. He was more dangerous than she had previously thought, underestimating your foe is the first step towards defeat, especially someone like the Senju Head, but that didn’t mean she planned on giving up. 

She learned a lot from their talk, and she could use it to her advantage. His women were strong, but she didn’t think they were stronger than her. No! Of course they weren’t! She was the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage, the strongest shinobi alive! There was no way some kunoichi who dedicated themselves to a man before their village could ever beat her!

Though…all three of them together would spell a problem, even she wasn’t so foolish to consider going against all of them. 

The best course of action going forward would be to face him within the confines of the Chunin Exams. That was the only way their village wouldn’t reap any consequences from the action of killing the Head of a Clan. Which means, she’d have to fight him one on one, and win.

A tall task, but one she wouldn’t back down from.

As Kurotsuchi prepared to return to her team, she paused as she remembered something her target had said to the busty Cloud Shinobi.

“To change this wicked world and bring it peace. Anything less than that will be a failure in my eyes.”

If what he said was true, and from his tone and body language it came from a place of utter honesty on his part…it was a shame she’d have to take him out. With his power and the potential he holds, perhaps he could have made his dream a reality? Could he create a world without death and violence? One where parents don’t have to bury children, or vice versa before their time.

The face of her father flashed in her mind for a moment before Kurotsuchi quickly shook her head, her eyes hardening with restrained fury. 

No, it didn’t matter. Lei Senju deserved everything that she’d give him. Only once she took such a significant figure from Konoha away from them would her anger be quenched. 

— Lei (Later that night) —

I lay on the cold ground beside Naruko, Satsuki, and Hinata, thinking about what had happened today. 

The last thing I expected was for Samui to come over to me with the intent to talk like mature adults. I had taken her for the quiet, calculative type, and after speaking with her, I know I was right with my assumption-

So why did she leave her comfort zone to have a chat with me? 

Was her curiosity truly too much to bear, or was it more so for the sake of having something to report to A once all was said and done?

I definitely enjoyed the view though. Samui was even more of a beauty in person than she was through the pages of a manga or the screen of my computer.  I definitely hoped to see more of her after the exams were over.

I let out a soft breath and grinned as I looked up at the ceiling. There was something hilarious about being the target of three different Hidden Villages. The Cloud, Stone, and Sand all wanted me dead, yet they knew they were too weak to make it happen. 

Knowing the Cloud though, they likely preferred to capture me rather than kill me, could that tie into why Samui questioned me? Trying to find my weaknesses? 

I glanced at the girls who I had mentioned during their talk and shook my head. 

The Cloud village would be genuine idiots if they came after them with anything less than Killer Bee and A to drag them away. 

As protective as I am over my girls, I acknowledge their strength and know that no one could take them away from me, especially if they fought together. Even alone, I could see them individually taking on the likes of Darui and escaping after doing some reasonable damage.

They all can use Hiraishin after all.

Yes, their safety was my main concern, but it was mostly unwarranted when their power was taken into account. 

And with Satsuki awakening her MS, and soon to have the EMS, she was going to be in a league of her own, capable of going toe to toe with Kage’s.

Yes, the Cloud, Stone, and Sand Village would never be able to take my girls from me, and if they ever tried, I had already made plans to deal with them.

A low chuckle escaped my lips as I thought back to when I left the room Samui brought me to. 

Kurotsuchi…she really thought she could hide from me? Well, it just goes to show how much they underestimate me. 

Which isn’t a good thing. They need to know just who I am, and who I will be: the next God of Shinobi, one that surpassed even my Grand-uncle. They need to acknowledge my power, so they never attempt to interfere with my plans. 

Named character or not, right now they were enemies, and a pair of big tits, or pretty eyes wouldn’t stop me from killing them if they made a move. 

I believe I expressed that clearly with Samui, so let’s hope Kurotsuchi got the message as well-

I shot up to my feet, and locked my eyes onto the corner of the room. 

“Did I wake you?” 

I let out a relieved sigh as I relaxed my body and frowned. “Gramps, ever heard of knocking?”

“...Lei?” I heard Naruko half whine/half shush. “Five more minutes.”

“Sleep, Naruko.” I crouched beside her, running a hand through her hair and appreciating the smile that tugged at her lips.

“Mmm…”

As I looked over at the other two girls, I saw they were already sitting up and had their eyes on Hiruzen who was shadily standing in the corner. 

“Seriously, you could have led me out or something.”

“I’ll keep that in mind going forward.” He rubbed the back of his head apologetically. “However, something urgent came up.”

“I see.” My frown grew, and I looked over at Hinata and Satsuki, the former looked extremely tired, while the latter looked more annoyed than anything. “I’ll be back.” I whispered, earning nods from the two as they laid back down.

Hiruzen and I walked out of the room and toward the front door of the tower. A few teams, the Cloud, and Sand widened their eyes as the two of us walked past them. 

We exited the tower and Hiruzen body flickered away, and I quickly followed after him. 

Within only ten or so minutes, we had traveled through the forest and were on our way to the Hokage mansion. All the while, I wondered what was so important that he decided to summon me now. 

And not only did he summon me, but he came personally. 

To my surprise, instead of going to the Hokage mansion, we passed it and went into the Hokage mountains. 

Only after reaching the mountains and traveling for a few minutes did Hiruzen finally stop. 

“This will do.” His voice grumbled and I immediately got on guard. Why else would he take me this far out into the mountains if not to fight me?!

The old man turned around to see me ready to fight, and he raised his eyebrow.

“Calm yourself, Lei, we will not be fighting. Not tonight anyway.”

I narrowed my eyes on him, but Hiruzen was not very often a liar, at least he didn’t usually lie to me when it came to training, so I lowered my guard and waited for him to speak.

“You’ve grown from a timid child to a strong, splendid shinobi, Lei.” Hiruzen smiled the same grandfatherly smile I often saw from him. “One I have grown to care for deeply.” 

“Love you too, Gramps.” I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly.

“I’m not kidding, Lei.” His voice gained a bit more seriousness, wiping my joking smile off my face. “Watching you grow from a boy to a young man has been the greatest gift of my old age.”

My eyes widened a bit at that. 

“As the Hokage of this village, I see everyone who lives in it as my family…but you Lei…you hold a special place in my heart, one I thought had long since been closed off by the pain of war and loss.” 

“Gramps…”

“Excuse this old man and his ramblings.” Hiruzen chuckled, averting his gaze from me for the first time. “It’s late, I’m sure you wish to know why I called you here-”

“You’re my family too, Gramps.” I said proudly, looking at him with the most serious expression I could muster, making his eyes widen minutely. “I-When I was a boy, I didn’t think my life had any value. I was just Lei Kazumi, the clanless orphan boy who nobody would miss if I one day kicked the bucket-”

“Lei-”

“Please, let me finish.” I held my hand up, and Hiruzen nodded. “But the day I discovered my Wood Release, I realized I was something, someone, and you were the first person who saw that, who showed me a better life, the opportunity to make a real difference in this world of ours.”

“Lei…your life meant something before.”

“Did it?” I asked with genuine curiosity, even though I already knew the answer. “Would anyone have looked for me if I suddenly disappeared one day? Would anyone have cared if Danzo abducted me and threw me into the ROOT to be one of his loyal dogs?”

Hiruzen didn’t say a word at that, and my answer was proven correct. 

“The point is, that’s not my life anymore. I have power, importance, my girls…and you, old man.” 

We both stood in silence as a light  rain began to fall down on us. 

“I’m sorry for what once was, Lei.” He spoke after a while. “But I’m glad you can see what you have for what it is.”

“And I’m glad you’ve given me this chance.” I nodded back. 

He stepped forward and placed his hands on my shoulders.

Has he always been this short? I hadn’t noticed…

He looked up into my eyes and smiled. “You’ve grown into a great man, Lei Senju. Your father, Tobirama-sensei and Hashirama-sensei would be so proud.”

Try as I did, my eyes began to grow watery at the old man’s words, and in a quick motion, I pulled him into a tight hug. His body stiffened in the embrace for a moment, before he welcomed it, patting my back soothingly. 

The hug didn’t last long and I pulled away, averting my gaze from his. “Sorry…”

“There’s no need to apologize, my boy.” He smiled. “This has been one of my better days, and it’s all thanks to you.” 

I nodded slowly and locked eyes with him as he took a step back.

“Now, for why I brought you here.”

He held up a hand seal, and a puff of smoke erupted in front of him. As the smoke cleared, I tilted my head at the scroll that appeared on the ground. Hiruzen picked it up and looked at it fondly for a moment before looking at me with the same kind eyes.

“This scroll means a lot to not only myself, but my clan. It has been passed down for generations throughout the Sarutobi, from father to son. When I was but a small child, my father, Sasuke, gave me this scroll with hopes that I would grow into a strong leader.”

My eyes widened as the realization of just what that scroll was hit me like a truck. 

“I gave this scroll to my first born son, but tragedy struck. When I tried to give the scroll to Asuma…he…refused.” Hiruzen explained sadly. The emphasis he put on the word ‘refused’ told me that there was a story behind that one word alone, but I wouldn’t dare ask him to relive that moment. 

“Gramps…” 

“Lei…” The old man stepped forward. “I have no heirs, no willing ones in any case. So I will do as my father did, and I will offer this scroll to my child with hopes that he will grow into a strong leader, a better one than I ever was.” 

Then, he held out the scroll to me.

“Within this scroll is the pride of the Sarutobi, as well as the camaraderie we share with our friends on the other side. Take this scroll Lei, and take my will.”

I was left speechless, I couldn’t utter a word back to him, so I did what I could. I closed my eyes and gave a long, thankful nod, then reached out and grabbed the scroll. 

I looked at him one last time, ensuring that this was truly what he wanted, and upon seeing his quick nod free of any doubts, I began to open the scroll.

From Father to Son, Throughout generations we remain loyal. Our strength is yours, but Our faith is ours to give. 

• Twelfth Monkey King, Entama

“Monkey King.” I whispered, earning a nod from Hiruzen. 

“I entrust you with the Sarutobi clan's greatest strength, and our greatest ally, the wise, powerful Monkey King lineage.” The old man smiled. “Their might is now yours to summon.”

My jaw nearly fell to the floor at the implications. My mind was running a thousand miles a second: Monkey Kings would be my personal summon now and those of my sons after me. And with the buddhist theme of my Grand-uncle’s sage mode and his wood structures, it seemed I was on the right path to become the Victorious Fighting Buddha of this world. 

I couldn’t help the grin that came to my face, it always came back to Journey to the West, Sun wukong and Goku, huh? Well, as a huge fanboy of all of them you would never hear a complaint from me!

— Chapter End —

Beta reader: @Dragonboy1

Author’s Note: Spider drops on Thursday.