That Girl

The entire house was pitch-black, with no lights on. Uchiha Chen walked up to the door, just about to push it open and enter his home.

"Hmm? Someone's here!"

Uchiha Chen immediately stopped and quickly crouched down.

Then he pulled a Kunai from the Ninja Pouch at his waist. The black metal of the Kunai gleamed faintly.

Hmph! It had to be that bastard Tsunade. Tomorrow was already the last day, and this week of training would be over after that.

And Tsunade had actually sneaked into his room now. Was she here to ambush him again?

As for whether Nawaki could be inside, that was impossible.

That day, Jiraiya had gone looking for Nawaki, and the two of them had discussed secretly investigating the pretty girls in short skirts together. Then Tsunade, who had transformed herself into a patch of grass with the Transformation Jutsu, overheard them.

So lately, Nawaki had been making excuses about going to Jiraiya's place to train, all to avoid Tsunade.

Uchiha Chen narrowed his eyes and quickly formed a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

The Shadow Clone Jutsu was a B-rank Ninjutsu. It was a Ninjutsu he had asked Tsunade for.

Shadow Clones could create bodies identical to the caster's, with the Chakra divided evenly among each clone. Compared to the illusory clones created by the ordinary Clone Jutsu, the Shadow Clone Jutsu was practically flawless. It was a Ninjutsu that created physical bodies.

For Uchiha Chen, evenly distributing his own Chakra was easy, so he mastered this Ninjutsu on his first try.

Uchiha Chen and his Shadow Clone exchanged a glance, then nodded.

The Shadow Clone twisted open the doorknob, deliberately making a sound as it did so. Under the cover of that noise, Uchiha Chen's real body quietly pushed open the window at the same time, then flipped inside without a sound.

Strange. Tsunade, who was on the bed, did not seem to react. She did not attack the Shadow Clone that had served as a distraction.

"Hmm? Still pretending to be asleep? Pulling the same trick again. First deliberately expose a flaw, then lure me in? Not happening." Uchiha Chen wore an understanding expression.

He directly took several Mini Explosive Tags from his Ninja Pouch. He had confiscated these Mini Explosive Tags from Nawaki.

Honestly, Nawaki, who made this kind of Explosive Tag, was practically an animal.

These Explosive Tags retained the sound of normal Explosive Tags, but their power had been drastically reduced. When they exploded, they were only as powerful as firecrackers.

The first time Tsunade had used one of these Explosive Tags, she had thrown it onto Uchiha Chen's bed. In that instant, every hair on his body stood on end, and he felt like he was about to die. Then, right in front of Tsunade, he had been so frightened that some mysterious liquid leaked onto the bed.

What a humiliation! He would never be able to hold his head up again for the rest of his life.

So no wonder Nawaki was eventually blown to death by an Explosive Tag. Was this karmic retribution?

These Mini Explosive Tags were going back to you, Tsunade, whether you were really asleep or pretending!

Uchiha Chen instantly threw the Mini Explosive Tags.

The Explosive Tags gave off a sizzling sound on the bed. The person on the bed seemed to be startled awake by the noise.

That person woke up groggily, then suddenly noticed a burst of sparks in the darkness.

"Explosive... Explosive Tags?! Help... help me!"

That person's tone and movements gave Uchiha Chen the impression of extreme panic and helplessness.

What incredible acting.

Even her voice—Tsunade had deliberately changed it into the voice of a six- or seven-year-old child. Uchiha Chen felt that becoming a ninja was such a waste of Tsunade's acting talent.

She should go make movies. She would definitely become Best Actress, no question about it. If she didn't win an award, he would livestream himself eating a Kunai.

Boom! A sudden loud bang rang out. Then the Explosive Tags flashed with sparks and lightly exploded on the bed.

Tsunade on the bed seemed to freeze. What was going on? Uchiha Chen felt that something was wrong.

With Tsunade's skills, how could she possibly fail to dodge it? This acting was a little too over-the-top. Young people these days really needed to improve their acting.

"Sensei?" Uchiha Chen asked carefully.

Had he actually frightened Tsunade, one of the Konoha Sannin, out of her wits?

Seeing that Tsunade on the bed had no reaction, Uchiha Chen hurriedly turned on the light.

Once the light was on, he saw that the person on the bed was not Tsunade.

It was a little girl, only five or six years old.

Her red hair fell over her shoulders, and she wore a cute pink set of pajamas.

But her eyes were somewhat vacant.

It seemed like she had... gone... stupid...

Uchiha Chen already understood who she was—Uzumaki Kushina.

He was doomed. Damn it, why was this damned little brat sleeping in his room? Kushina, an important strategic resource, had been scared stupid by him. What was he supposed to do now?!

"Should I defect immediately?" The devil emerged to tempt Uchiha Chen.

"Don't. All your friends are in Konoha," the angel also appeared to persuade him.

"Don't be stupid. You've scared one of Konoha's important strategic resources stupid. Konoha won't let you off," the devil retorted without backing down.

"You're the stupid one. Kushina has Anbu protecting her in secret. Where do you think you can run?"

"Who cares where we go? If we leave now, we can still make it. Whether it's the Land of Wind to eat sand, or the Land of Earth to eat dirt—anywhere will do.

We'll leave tonight and make a clean break!" The devil continued to urge him.

"You have a point, you have a point." The angel nodded.

Hey, hey, Angel, weren't you persuaded a little too easily?

Then it was decided. Uchiha Chen immediately crouched down, preparing to leave.

"--I want to duel you--"

When Uzumaki Kushina came to her senses, she looked as though she wanted to devour Uchiha Chen alive.

This was bad.

At that moment, Kushina had already entered Super Saiyan mode. Her hair stood on end, and the killing intent spilling from her made his skin sting.

"I'm going to kill you! Let me break all your arms and legs! One by one, nice and neat!"

Uzumaki Kushina made that awe-inspiring declaration.

Ahhh... so scary~

Watching Kushina completely lose control, Uchiha Chen could not help clutching his head.

Kushina pulled a Kunai out from beneath her pillow.

"Huh???"

Why was there a Kunai under her pillow? How insecure did she have to be?

Just as Uchiha Chen was about to run, he suddenly looked up and saw Kushina trembling.

"...I hate ninjas. All of you... whether it's Konoha or anywhere else... I just want to go home..."

Kushina's voice suddenly became broken and halting.

Huh? Just as Uchiha Chen found it strange, a clear droplet suddenly slid down her snow-white face.

What!

"Hey, what's wrong with you!?"

"I-I'm sorry."

Uchiha Chen hurriedly apologized.

For a moment, Uchiha Chen had no idea what to do.

The Kunai suddenly fell onto the blanket. Tears streamed from her large eyes.

Kushina covered her eyes with both hands, desperately suppressing her voice. Her shoulders trembled as she sobbed without stopping.

Uchiha Chen stared silently at the helpless-looking girl before him. A sorrowful feeling filled the air...