Such a Coincidence?

Konoha.

Under the scorching August sun, the Shinobi World War had begun, but most battles remained localized. For now, Konoha Village still enjoyed a brief peace.

On the rooftop, leaning against the railing.

Back in the village, Tsunade had tied her hair into a ponytail and changed into a breezy, midriff-baring short-sleeve shirt, with a fishnet undershirt beneath it.

"Nawaki, happy twelfth birthday."

Standing on the rooftop, Tsunade spoke the congratulatory words with a broad smile. Across from her stood Nawaki, a Konoha forehead protector tied around his head.

Seeing his older sister wish him a happy birthday and even pull out a gift, he immediately put on a tsundere expression.

"I'm not a kid anymore. You don't have to give me birthday presents."

Despite his words, the joy in Nawaki's eyes was impossible to hide, and his hands had already reached out to take the gift.

Watching this, Tsunade couldn't help but laugh, teasing him with a grin.

"Go on, open it. Maybe it's a present you'll really like."

Under Tsunade's playful laughter, she leaned lazily against the railing, gazing fondly at Nawaki as he unwrapped the gift. Yet a trace of seriousness lurked deep in her eyes.

A beautifully packaged metal box. As it opened, Nawaki saw what was inside and his face filled with shock.

"Sis, could this be...!"

Nawaki was utterly stunned. He recognized this gift all too well.

Beside him, Tsunade let out a light laugh.

"That's right. This is the First Hokage's—our grandfather's—Hokage Necklace."

Hearing the confirmation, Nawaki broke into an excited grin.

"I love it, sis!"

Watching Nawaki's thrilled expression, Tsunade casually asked, as if offhandedly.

"Nawaki, since it's your birthday today, I heard you're heading out on a mission tomorrow?"

Under Tsunade's seemingly casual inquiry, Nawaki was too caught up in his excitement to notice the probing tone in his sister's voice. Instead, he nodded eagerly, spilling everything without hesitation.

"That's right, sis. I picked up the mission yesterday. We leave tomorrow—I'm going with Orochimaru-sensei."

As if to reassure his sister, Nawaki lifted his head and gave her a sincere smile.

Tsunade smiled back, but deep in her eyes lurked a shadow of unease.

So was Orochimaru involved in this or not?

She didn't dare to think about it. But this was her little brother—the future of the Senju Clan.

Nawaki's laughter echoed in her ears as Tsunade teased him lightly.

"Alright, I know that Uchiha brat in your squad has been outshining you as the top student. If it weren't for him, you'd already be under my command."

Hearing this, Nawaki broke into a grin.

"Don't worry, sis. Even if he's the top student, I'd still choose Orochimaru-sensei. But I bet that Uchiha Yoru guy is going to give you a headache."

At the mention of Uchiha Yoru, Nawaki couldn't help but let out a gleeful chuckle.

And so, the siblings spent the day laughing together—Nawaki's twelfth birthday.

Yesterday had been scorching hot, but the next day was overcast with dark clouds.

The weather seemed to foreshadow something about to happen.

At Konoha's Main Gate, Orochimaru led Nawaki's squad as they rushed out of the village to carry out their mission.

After the group departed, Tsunade, hidden in the shadows, appeared beneath a large tree outside the village.

Standing in the tree's shadow, Tsunade's face was grim as she stared at the scroll in her hands.

"A simple C-rank mission. A band of rogue samurai has wandered into the area. During wartime, intelligence within the Land of Fire should be handled with greater care. There's no way such a basic mistake should occur."

"Especially at this distance from Konoha Village!"

Tsunade studied the intelligence in her hands. No matter how she analyzed it, she couldn't find anything unusual about this mission.

If someone hadn't told her, she would never have believed it.

The truth was, this mission could be completed and the squad could return to the village in a single day—that's how close it was!

Which ninja would be reckless enough to try something? And even if they were, how could they slip past the layers of patrols within the Land of Fire?

Especially during wartime!

But this involved her little brother. With a resolute expression, Tsunade vanished into the shadows. She didn't choose to tail Nawaki's squad.

After all, with Orochimaru present, following them would be too easy to detect.

Instead, she decided to reach the destination first. With Orochimaru slowed down by his squad, there was no way he'd be faster than her.

Half a day later.

Dark shadows darted through the gloomy forest.

A scream rang out as a figure's eyes lost their light, his neck snapped by a giant serpent.

The snakes retracted into his sleeve, and Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh.

The next moment!

A shadow flashed behind Orochimaru—it was an excited Nawaki, along with his two teammates.

Orochimaru murmured with a full smile:

"Nawaki's already got his momentum going. Looks like he'll adapt to the battlefield soon enough."

As expected of the Senju Clan, Nawaki's Chakra far surpassed that of ordinary ninjas of the same rank, both in quality and quantity. Once he fully adapted, he'd definitely be elite chunin-level.

But just as Orochimaru smiled with pride at his disciple's progress, a sudden explosion roared, and a towering blaze lit up his pale face.

Orochimaru's golden snake eyes narrowed. He stared in shock and disbelief at the distance.

"How is this possible?!"

The two genin were terrified. They'd faced life and death before, but this time, the person who died was different!

The blazing fire illuminated their faces.

In the distance, within the flames, Tsunade's eyes burned with fury!

"Why are there Exploding Tag traps here?! And so many of them?!"

She had arrived over an hour before Orochimaru. Watching from the shadows, she hadn't noticed anything wrong with those rogue samurai.

But she had witnessed everything with her own eyes!

This Exploding Tag trap was set by the rogue samurai to lure Nawaki in.

There was only one truth!

This trap had been laid long in advance.

Was there such a coincidence in the world?

"Nawaki!"

A panicked cry came from his two companions. But in the flames, Tsunade suppressed her rage and tossed out a corpse she had prepared in advance.

Along with the necklace she had given Nawaki yesterday, which she threw onto the ground.

She had thought she wouldn't need it anymore. She never expected—

Whoosh, whoosh!

Under the firelight, Tsunade carried Nawaki and vanished swiftly, leaving only the towering blaze behind.

The Three Ninjas of this era were not yet at their peak.

Among them, Tsunade was the strongest, Orochimaru second, and Jiraiya last.

After all, ninjas needed resources. Orochimaru had yet to delve into forbidden techniques, nor had he reached that near-unkillable state. (Snake Uncle was almost blown to bits by Exploding Tags when he defected.)

Jiraiya hadn't learned Sage Mode yet.

As the Princess of the Senju Clan, Tsunade had access to resources beyond ordinary imagination.

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