10 Chapter 10 - Senju Estate

After an emotionally eventful day with Towa, Mikumo woke up the next day ready to follow her grandma back to the Senju estate.

The Kashima family gathered outside early in the morning to see Towa and Mikumo off.

"Listen to your grandmother okay? Behave yourself."

"Yes mom, I got it."

"Don't worry Toka dear, Mikumo is a good child, I'll take care of her."

Toka nodded nervously, her husband patted her shoulder to reassure her.

"Yeah, it'll be fine, I can tell Miku-chan has matured recently, no need to worry."

"Somehow I don't feel reassured at all."

Toka sighed but then knelt down to hug Mikumo.

"We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Mhm, got it. Have a good day at work mom."

Toka nodded and then together with Nikumo, the two headed off to the store.

Towa took her granddaughter's hand and started making her way to the Senju Estate located in a forest outside of the village center.

It didn't take long before they arrived at a large gated compound. The guards noticed Towa and Mikumo's arrival and bowed their heads.

"Towa-sama. Welcome back."

"Thank you."

Towa thanked them with a nod and continued inside with her granddaughter.

Upon entering the large compound, which encompasses the Senju estate, Mikumo was stunned by the breathtaking beauty of the place.

Towa noticed her expression and smiled.

"Do you like it? This is the Senju estate. I believe this is your first time here."

Mikumo nodded as she scanned her surroundings. The estate resembled an elegant traditional Japanese home. With bamboo doors, rock pathways, and tons of greenery, and plants, the estate looked very serene with nature.

Towa continued leading Mikumo as they made their way into the estate.

Entering the estate, Mikumo noticed that the inside was even bigger than it seemed. Hallways lead to various courtyards and open-air indoor patios.

As Mikumo continued to be led towards her grandmother's residence within the estate, suddenly a door opened as they walked by.

"Hm? Towa-sama?"

Mikumo stopped and looked at the speaker that called out to them. A beautiful woman wearing a green haori with blond hair, a diamond mark on her forehead, and an enormous chest. The familiar appearance instantly stunned her as she stared in awe.

"Tsunade-hime, how are you today?"

"I'm fine, Towa-sama."

Tsunade then turned to look at the small figure next to Towa.

"And this is?"

Towa smiled before answering.

"This is my granddaughter, Mikumo. Mikumo, greet the princess."

Mikumo broke out of her stunned state and bowed.

"Tsunade-hime, my name is Mikumo. It's nice to meet you."

Tsunade had a slightly surprised expression while staring at Mikumo's face.

"Granddaughter? Mikumo-chan is it? Nice to meet you."

Mikumo chuckled internally.

'As expected, I am too handsome for my own good.'

"Towa-sama, I didn't know you had a granddaughter already."

Towa sighed slightly before answering.

"Most people don't, it's better that way."

Tsunade nodded in understanding before stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind her.

"I'm heading out, let the servants know if you need anything, Towa-sama."

Towa nodded gently.

"Thank you, Tsunade-hime. Please try not to go over budget."

"Geh."

Tsunade had an ugly expression on her face as she heard what Towa said.

"I don't know what you're talking about Towa-sama. Now, I'll be off. See you next time, Mikumo-chan."

Tsunade sprinted away after leaving her regards.

Towa sighed and shook her head at the fleeing Senju princess.

Mikumo held in the urge the laugh at the hilarity of the scene.

'It seems Tsunade is already semi-retired, but nice, now I have another connection I can potentially rely on. I thought I didn't get any cheats but it seems my family lineage is the biggest cheat.'

"Let's go, dearie, we're almost there."

Mikumo nodded and continued and soon they arrived at a small courtyard with a beautifully decorated open-air indoor patio. A female servant adorned in an elegant kimono came over as soon as Mikumo and Towa entered the courtyard.

"Towa-sama. Welcome back."

"Thank you, Ayane, please prepare the table for me and my granddaughter."

"Everything is ready for you, Towa-sama."

Towa nodded approvingly.

"Good, I'll be over shortly."

The servant Ayane bowed and made her way to the back of the courtyard before entering one of the doors.

"Now, follow me, dearie."

Towa led Mikumo to one of the rooms on the right side of the residence.

Entering the room, Mikumo noticed that it was carefully maintained, but it was clear that no one had been living there for a long time.

"This was my sister's room."

Mikumo nodded, having slightly guessed it already.

Towa walked over to the back of the room and knelt down on the tatami mat. She placed her hand on the tile on the far back left of the room.

"Kai."

With a puff of smoke, the tile then flipped over, revealing a scroll.

Towa beckoned Mikumo over, and Mikumo made her way next to her and sat down.

Towa turned to face Mikumo and placed the scroll in front of her.

"This is my sister's legacy. I leave it in your hands."

Mikumo gulped as she stretched her hand out to pick up the scroll. The scroll glowed slightly upon Mikumo's touch and then unrolled itself.

"This scroll can only be accessed by someone with our family's blood. I will reseal it once you've memorized the content."

Mikumo nodded at her grandmother's words before focusing her attention back on the scroll.

"This is...!!!"

Mikumo read the scroll carefully. Written on the scroll were two Jutsu, their learning, and utilization method, and Toka Senju's insights on how to use them effectively.

"Kokuryou no Jutsu (Dark Domain Technique) and Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Bringer of Darkness Technique)..."

'Kokuryou? What's this? I remember this other Jutsu though, Kokuangyo is Tobirama's Jutsu, isn't it? What's it doing here?'

Towa nodded satisfyingly at Mikumo's focused study of the scroll.

"Carved upon this scroll are two Jutsu, the first, Kokuryou no Jutsu, is my sister's personal technique. With this one Jutsu, she was feared across the land. The other is Kokuangyo no Jutsu, a derivative created by my sister for Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama. Kokuryou no Jutsu is an S-Rank genjutsu, while Kokuangyo is A-Rank."

Mikumo nodded and held the scroll gently as if it was a delicate egg.

"Unfortunately I was never able to learn my sister's signature Jutsu, as it required a large amount of Yin chakra. This Jutsu allows you to isolate your opponent's sight, hearing, and smell. Toka was feared across every battlefield as any victim of this Jutsu in combat would soon be met with death."

Mikumo gasped in surprise upon hearing the explanation.

'Sight, hearing, and smell? Well yeah, they're basically sitting ducks without those. What an overpowered Jutsu. Kokuangyo itself as a derivative was dangerous for even the Third Hokage during the Konoha crush, so it stands to reason that the original Jutsu would be crazy.'

"Kokuangyo no Jutsu is easier to perform and requires less Yin chakra, however in order to be truly effective, the caster still must utilize a lot of chakra. Both of these Jutsu are combat genjutsu, which only has any effect if the victim can't easily break free."

"Mhm, I understand, grandma."

Mikumo carefully studied the scroll, trying to etch each word and insight into her mind.

Seeing her granddaughter's focused expression, Towa smiled and got up to leave.

"I'll have Ayane send over your breakfast, you can stay here and carefully learn."

Mikumo raised her head and nodded, before returning to studying the scroll.

'This Jutsu is really amazing. It even has a detailed explanation of how to isolate each sense, this is going to speed up project Kyoka Suigetsu by years. In order for me to truly create the kind of perfect illusion that can fool anyone, I must at the very least isolate and control four of my target's senses aside from taste. Through that control, I can make them see, hear, feel, and even smell my illusion clone. Combined with the Kurama clan's kekkei genkai, I can even cause physical damage with my illusion clone. This goes beyond perfect hypnosis, as I won't even have to put myself in danger to attack my enemies.'

Mikumo couldn't help but snicker in excitement.

'I can't wait to recreate that scene. 'Oh, since when did you think I wasn't using Kyoka Suigetsu? Did you think you were actually fighting me this whole time?' Yes, this is what I'm talking about.'

'Hehe, with my Kyoka Suigetsu clone attacking and preoccupying my opponents, I'm free to sneak attack them however I want with my real body. The biggest hurdle is how to achieve that 'perfect hypnosis' effect. Genjutsu in this world can be broken with enough effort. However, if I can combine this theoretical technique with the Second Mizukage's combination Jutsu, I can sustain the illusion for as long as I want until my enemies find my main body. Problem is, I have no idea how his Jutsu works.'

Mikumo scratched her head and she thought about the problem.

'Ah well, I'll figure it out at some point. There's no shortage of ways to gain knowledge, even Edo Tensei is an option at some point.'

Soon, Mikumo heard a knock on the door.

"Mikumo-sama, it's Ayane. I've come to bring your breakfast."

"Ah, okay, you can come in."

The door opened revealing Ayane holding a tray of food. She placed it on the ground next to Mikumo before exiting the room again.

"Please let me know if you need anything else, Mikumo-sama, I'll be just outside."

"Thank you, Ayane-san."

Ayane bowed and then closed the door.

Mikumo returned to memorizing the scroll's insights while eating her breakfast.

'There's a lot of information here, including in-depth genjutsu theory and musings. Some of it I don't really understand, but I need to memorize everything. I can ask Shinku-san about it later.'

The day slowly progressed as Mikumo spent the entire morning and afternoon studying the scroll.