Opening Shizune's New World

"La la la~ La la la~ I'm back!"

Hearing the cheerful tune from the entrance, Tsunade, who was lazily buried in the sofa, barely lifted half her head.

"Shizune, when is dinner?"

"Coming right up."

Shizune felt a little helpless. Tsunade was supposed to be the one looking after her, as promised to her uncle, but it felt like their roles had been reversed.

Still, Shizune didn't dislike this change. To her, it felt more like home this way.

Tsunade slid down the sofa like a slug. Then, a scene caught in the corner of her eye instantly invigorated her, and she asked excitedly:

"Shizune, did you get into a fight at school?"

In Tsunade's opinion, Shizune was good in every other way, except her personality was too soft, and she'd be easily taken advantage of in the future.

After all, back in her own Ninja Academy days, she had fought her way through. How could Tsunade Hime's disciple not know how to fight?

Shizune patted her dust-covered sleeves and nodded with excessive excitement, "Mhm!"

For a good girl like her, the group fight experience today felt like suddenly opening the door to a new world.

"I told you ages ago, fighting feels great, right?" Tsunade enthusiastically shared her past bullying experiences with Shizune. "Of course, hitting people randomly isn't good. It's best if there are one or two annoying guys in your class, like Jiraiya!"

Shizune waved her little fists in dissatisfaction, "How could that be? This is a righteous war against the oppression of evil forces!"

Tsunade looked bewildered. Where did she learn such novel phrases?

Seeing Tsunade's confused expression, Shizune took the initiative to explain, "It was those third-year bullies who were picking on one of our classmates. Then, Soseki-kun led us to confront those bad guys!"

"Our entire class went out, and those third-years were so scared they didn't dare say a word. And then, after we beat them up, Soseki-kun had me help him heal those bullies, and then we beat them up again!" Shizune became more and more excited as she spoke, her face turning flushed by the end.

That brat actually had that kind of courage... A hint of surprise flashed in Tsunade's eyes. When she heard about healing them, she thought Soseki was going to reconcile with them.

But she didn't expect he just wanted to beat them up again!

"But it was indeed very satisfying!" Tsunade secretly nodded.

If last time she saw Jiraiya's "universal love" in him, this time she saw the same toughness as her own in Soseki!

Thinking of this, Tsunade suddenly realized another problem, "Wait, you said the whole class?"

Shizune tilted her head, "Is there a problem?"

Tsunade asked curiously, "For something like a group brawl, didn't you have any concerns? And, from what you said earlier, the people you dealt with weren't exactly good people, were you afraid of retaliation afterward?"

"Oh, right!" Shizune first nodded foolishly, as if suddenly enlightened. "We just followed Soseki-kun's lead without thinking."

But soon, she waved her hand confidently, "But don't worry, we stood up for that classmate this time, and next time someone bullies us, other classmates will definitely stand up for us too! Besides, those third-year bullies are terrified of the Class Leader now. With Soseki-kun around, they wouldn't dare provoke us!"

To have people follow him with all their might just from a single word, such trust is truly enviable! Tsunade sighed inwardly. If it weren't for my hemophobia... I would have been very happy to take on a disciple like him!

In a large mansion with a distinct Warring States period style within the Uchiha compound.

A middle-aged ninja, who was meditating in the courtyard, suddenly opened his eyes and asked calmly, "Where are you planning to go?"

Shūnen, who was tiptoeing through the courtyard, stiffened and turned around with his head lowered, "Father."

"Are you not going to explain to me about the injuries you have?"

Shūnen pouted, "Someone's already told you, haven't they?"

The middle-aged ninja sternly demanded, "I want to hear it from you!"

Shūnen reluctantly knelt down, then let out a cry of pain, "Ouch!"

"What's wrong now?"

"My butt is so sore I can't sit down."

Seeing Shūnen constantly twisting his body, eventually ending up in a posture where his front was tilted down and his rear was sticking high up, the middle-aged ninja almost passed out.

Taking a deep breath, the middle-aged ninja calmed himself down. "Can you tell me now?"

Shūnen, with his butt sticking out, said, "Simply put, I was beaten up for the honor of the Uchiha Clan!"

The middle-aged ninja chuckled coldly, "Should I praise you then?"

Shūnen mumbled quietly, "I think so."

"Nonsense!" The middle-aged ninja slammed the table, "I haven't paid attention to you for just a short while, and you've started hanging out with those trash? Do you know that those hoodlums are just using your Uchiha name? As for you, they never considered you one of their own!"

"I know."

"You know, then... Huh? You said you know?"

"I'm not a complete idiot. I can tell who is good to me and who isn't."

The middle-aged ninja suppressed his anger, "Then why were you still hanging out with them?"

Shūnen didn't answer directly but brought up something else, "Since I was little, besides the kids in the clan, no other peers were willing to play with me."

"Is that so? How come I didn't know?"

"Of course you didn't know. You were always with the clan head and the others, you never had time to look after me!" (PS to prevent censorship: His father found out so quickly this time because the commotion was too big.)

The middle-aged ninja frowned, remaining silent.

"I tried, I tried to make friends with outsiders, but it all failed… In reality, none of that matters, but what I can't stand is them slandering the Uchiha Clan behind our backs, slandering the honor of the Uchiha Clan that you all hold so dear!"

"From that moment on, I understood. Rather than having others like us, it's better to make them fear us!"

A flicker of emotion crossed the middle-aged ninja's eyes, but he quickly put on a cold face and reprimanded, "Foolish! Humans cannot exist apart from a group. Even the ancestor Uchiha Madara couldn't do it, so how can you speak such grand words?"

"That's still better than you doing nothing! This kind of weakness isn't the honor of the Uchiha at all!"

"Get out!"

"Hmph! I'll leave on my own!" Shūnen stood up, limped away, supporting his rear.

After Shūnen left, a barely audible murmur came from the now-silent courtyard, "Did we really do wrong? We've already proactively restrained our clansmen, we've already extended an olive branch to the Hokage faction, why hasn't the situation changed at all? Are we cursed as a clan, or… is someone secretly pushing things from behind the scenes?"

Thank you to Jiang Zui for the 10,000 tip, Wuxian Guaji for the 7,500 tip, Suiyuan Kanshu Suiyuan Toubi for the 1,000 tip, Sebtao for the 500 tip, Shengyu Youhuan O Si Yu Anle for the 300 tip, Tiantangboy Suhang for the 200 tip, and Shan Jiu for the 100 tip. Thank you all very much for your support, but this author is clumsy and busy with work, making it difficult to add more chapters. I truly feel unworthy of your kindness, so please refrain from tipping in the future. This author feels ashamed ω) If you really want to support this author, a one-yuan tip is enough to show your appreciation (.)