The Arrested Three Sannin

Nawaki grabbed Uchiha Chen and headed toward the shop he had identified as a spy den.

Hearing Nawaki declare that he would begin the investigation from a low angle, Uchiha Chen felt that he needed to get to know Nawaki all over again.

What happened to the honest guy?

So, he decided to take back the honest-guy label he had given Nawaki. It seemed that, among the Three Sannin, Jiraiya had unexpectedly had the greatest influence on Nawaki.

He had never expected that even he, Uchiha Chen, could misjudge someone.

Perhaps tomorrow's Konoha Daily headline would read like this:

Shocking! Jiraiya abducts the Young Clan Head of the Senju Clan!

Young Clan Head of the Senju Clan makes shocking remarks!

Not someone to mess with. Definitely not someone to mess with.

He needed to stay farther away from Jiraiya in the future. With Jiraiya's influence, all the Single Dogs in Konoha Village would probably end up following his commands.

Just think about it. Even someone as cold as Kakashi could grow into a repressed man who carried around little porn books all day.

What else could possibly be impossible?

Uchiha Chen could even boldly clear the Third Hokage's name. The Third Hokage using the Telescope Technique to peep every day had absolutely been Jiraiya's influence too.

At that moment, Mikoto beside Uchiha Chen laughed.

"...That really is quite interesting."

When Uchiha Chen turned around, he saw Mikoto praising them with a chilly smile.

It was true that Mikoto looked adorable when she smiled.

But... there was no smile at all in her eyes. Just looking at her gave people a rather frightening feeling.

That feeling... was like winter had arrived.

But it was only May.

Uchiha Chen hurriedly interrupted Nawaki.

"Um, Nawaki, we need to go to school. If we go there, we might be late."

"Th-then there's no helping it. For the village's safety, I won't feel at ease if I don't go take a look," Nawaki said hesitantly.

If you keep hesitating, you'll have to start worrying about my safety!

Uchiha Chen quickly said, "Right, your sister and the others are coming today. If Lady Tsunade finds out you skipped class to investigate enemy intelligence..."

"Let's hurry to school. After one night, I already kind of miss Teacher Nishimura," Nawaki immediately said.

"..."

Now that was the Nawaki he knew.

It seemed Tsunade's childhood shadow over him was no ordinary thing.

After Uchiha Chen comforted Mikoto, the trio continued toward the Ninja Academy.

Along the way, Uchiha Chen finally figured out why Nawaki had been acting so strangely.

"Your younger sister is coming?" Uchiha Chen asked in surprise.

"Do you have a younger sister you were separated from for years?" Uchiha Chen asked doubtfully.

"No. That little sister is from my grandmother's clan. Going by that side of the family, she counts as my cousin," Nawaki explained.

"Oh." Uchiha Chen drew out the word.

He finally remembered who it was.

—Uzumaki Kushina.

Naruto's mother, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of this generation.

Kushina's arrival meant that Uzumaki Mito's body could no longer hold on.

One of the last remaining figures from the First Hokage's era was about to fade away as well.

Was an era about to end?

Uchiha Chen suddenly fell silent.

"What's wrong, Chen? Why did you suddenly seem so down?" Mikoto immediately sensed the change in Uchiha Chen's mood.

"It's nothing," Uchiha Chen replied.

Nawaki clearly did not know about something like this.

Even Tsunade was probably being kept in the dark. After all, it was a matter of great importance.

As Nawaki's friend, he did not know how to tell him. He could only hope Nawaki would not become too despondent when the time came.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the school.

Because they had come much earlier than usual, there were still very few people at the school.

However, the moment Uchiha Chen entered the classroom, a burst of murmuring suddenly rose inside.

"Hey... did you see that? That's..."

"I saw it. I can't believe something like that happened..."

"Hey, hey, how could that guy possibly..."

"Exactly. How could it be Uchiha Chen? Could it be a Transformation Jutsu..."

I know I'm handsome and famous. But they were never this shocked before, were they? Uchiha Chen wondered, looking puzzled.

Uchiha Chen immediately focused and secretly listened to their conversation.

"How could Uchiha Chen possibly..."

"Exactly. How could he come this early..."

Uchiha Chen really wanted to speak up and refute them, but he would let them off the hook today.

Hmph, you just got your lives back.

But he would write down their names in his little notebook first. The next time he needed to earn Ninja Points, he would start with them.

A while later, Minato arrived in the classroom as well.

"Hi, Minato. Good morning," Uchiha Chen immediately greeted him.

As my best friend, Minato definitely won't make such a low-level mistake. He understands me, Uchiha Chen told himself.

"Hi, uh... huh?! Am I late?" Minato stared at Uchiha Chen with a bewildered expression.

Well, Minato probably needed to get his eyes checked too. If anyone dared say Minato was Uchiha Chen's friend in the future, he would pick a fight with them.

"Uchiha Chen, um, you should go to the infirmary. There are Medical Ninja there." Teacher Nishimura, who stood at the front of the room, said this somewhat hesitantly.

Because the Three Sannin were coming to train the students today, and all three students were in his class, Uncle Nishimura had arrived early that morning.

Having arrived relatively early, Uncle Nishimura saw Uchiha Chen and, after hesitating again and again, decided to have him visit the infirmary.

Is it really that bizarre for me to get to school early? Uchiha Chen thought speechlessly.

"Seriously, aren't you all being far too rude..."

"Wasn't it because the Uchiha Clan Head came looking for me yesterday and put a lot of pressure on me? Big brother, I'm under a lot of pressure. That was why I came a little earlier than usual... You didn't need to be this shocked, did you?" Uchiha Chen grumbled endlessly in his heart.

Uchiha Chen felt one hundred and twenty thousand degrees of regret over Teacher Nishimura's attitude.

It seemed no one understood him.

Was this... loneliness?

Uchiha Chen read through his notes on Chakra nature transformation while waiting for the Sannin to arrive.

But the morning was nearly over.

The three of them still had not come.

"Hey, Nawaki. Your sister wasn't caught cheating at the casino, was she? Why hasn't she come yet?" Uchiha Chen asked helplessly.

They had clearly agreed to come this morning, but the morning was nearly over and not a single one of them was in sight.

"Well, you know, Jonin, um... they're usually very busy," Nawaki argued, trying to salvage a bit of face for his sister.

But he clearly knew that his sister was currently between missions and had nothing to do.

Moreover, when Nawaki left home that morning, he had seen his sister lying dead asleep on her bed, with no intention of getting up whatsoever.

That morning, he had also heard the people at home say that Tsunade had gone to the casino last night and only returned in the middle of the night. On top of that, she had gambled away not only her mission payment from this outing, but Jiraiya's and Orochimaru's as well.

"Nawaki, I know Konoha has been cracking down hard lately. I suspect Lord Orochimaru was arrested by the Anbu for drug trafficking. And Lord Jiraiya may have been sent to the Police Force for peeping into the women's bathhouse." Uchiha Chen began spouting nonsense again.

After all, spreading rumors was not illegal.

"That's called gathering material! It's performance art, brat." Jiraiya stood at the classroom door, his entire head wrapped in bandages.