Not a Very Friendly Face

A few seconds later, the explosion subsided.

The lake water it had sent flying still surged wildly in every direction.

Tsunade stood on the treetops with Minato in her arms, her eyes filled with astonishment.

That power was greater than any ninjutsu she had ever seen!

Minato, however, remained fairly calm. The force was about on par with the kick that had blown up a mangrove when Kizaru first arrived at Sabaody Archipelago.

The difference was that Minato needed time to charge up, while Kizaru had thrown out that kick casually.

Minato didn't know whether he could inherit the monstrous physique of the One Piece World from Kizaru's figurine, but since he had inherited Hashirama's constitution, it seemed likely.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Someone was moving swiftly through the woods.

Before long, several figures appeared near them.

The newcomers were divided into two groups. One wore gray plate armor; they were the nearby Anbu.

The other wore Chunin vests and looked much like the shinobi commonly seen around the village, except that each vest bore a symbol shaped like a ping-pong paddle.

It was the Uchiha Clan crest. The newcomers were the Konoha Military Police Force.

"Lady Tsunade."

The Anbu squad leader landed on a nearby tree and gave Tsunade a slight nod. "May I ask what happened here?"

"Nothing much. I was just practicing ninjutsu, and it got a little loud. You can report that to the Third Hokage as it is."

As she spoke, Tsunade looked toward the members of the Konoha Military Police Force. "Sorry for the trouble."

"Not at all."

The squad leader was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen. He looked a little fierce, but spoke very politely. "We won't disturb you any longer."

Soon, the two groups went their separate ways.

Hiruzen Sarutobi received the news from the Anbu. In fact, he had felt the explosion from the Hokage Building.

"My, my... They blew up the entire lake?"

According to the Anbu's report, Tsunade had been with Minato at the time.

He knew Tsunade's abilities. She couldn't cause that much destruction, so it could only have been Minato.

The explosion's features, as described by the Anbu, also matched the Laser blast he had seen earlier.

It seemed this Light Release kekkei genkai was even more powerful than he had imagined!

And this power, greater than many S-rank ninjutsu, was in the hands of a five-year-old child.

"Children these days are such a handful..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe. "The Military Police Force had arrived by the time you got there?"

"Yes."

The Anbu squad leader nodded. "Their leader was the current young clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha. We arrived at the same time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked again, "How did he react?"

"I'm not sure." The Anbu hesitated. "He didn't look very happy, but he was quite polite."

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in understanding and held his pipe. "That boy doesn't look very friendly."

It seemed the Uchiha Clan might assume the explosion had been caused by Tsunade.

The upside was that a technique this powerful would surely intimidate the Uchiha Clan and keep them in line for a while.

The downside was that Minato's Light Release had made such a commotion that the Uchiha would eventually find out who had done it. Then some extremist might come to see Minato as a threat.

But this was the only place in the village suitable for Minato to train. He couldn't stop Minato from training over something like this.

He didn't trust Minato outside the village, either. He wouldn't even trust him near the village. After all, Konoha had only one Wood Release user!

Who knew if some dark-skinned Raikage might randomly show up the moment Minato left the village and steal him away...

"Suzume, I have a mission for you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the Anbu under his command and considered for a moment. "You've already seen the child who was with Tsunade today. His name is Minato Namikaze, and he's Tsunade's student."

"That child possesses two kekkei genkai. One of them is Wood Release, the same as the First's."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious. "You should understand how important this is to the village, right?"

Suzume nodded. He had served as a Jinchūriki's guard before and naturally understood what Wood Release meant to the village.

"For the next while, I need you to protect that child."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused. "You may reveal your Anbu identity, but don't interfere with his life or relationships. Just keep him safe. You can discuss it with Tsunade."

"Understood!"

Suzume's heart tightened. With a mission like this, if the situation demanded it, he might have to use his own life to take a blade for the target.

"Good. Go."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved him away and returned to his other work.

Ten minutes later, someone knocked on the door again.

Suzume, who had gone to carry out his mission, returned. "Lord Hokage, Lady Tsunade told me to get lost."

"...In that case, you can return to your unit."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples, but felt relieved.

Tsunade sending the Anbu back meant Minato probably already had some ability to protect himself.

That was fine, too. It saved him the trouble of worrying.

At the same time, at the Uchiha Military Police Headquarters.

Ken Uchiha listened to Fugaku's report, his brows drawing together slightly.

"You're saying Tsunade caused that commotion just now?"

"The only ones there were Lady Tsunade and a child of about five or six."

Fugaku couldn't tell who had caused the commotion, but Tsunade seemed far more likely than a five-year-old child.

"What did the child look like?"

Fugaku recalled Minato's appearance. "Blond hair, very cute."

"A girl?"

"A boy."

"Oh... Now I remember."

Ken Uchiha nodded in understanding. "I heard Tsunade had taken a student. That must be the child. I believe his name is Minato Namikaze. He beat the Third Hokage's son during the entrance exam. A promising talent."

He paused briefly. "Come to think of it, does our clan have any children starting school this year?"

"No."

Fugaku shook his head. "Father, are you thinking of having one of our clan's children challenge him?"

"I'm talking about making friends. And at work, use people's titles. This is the Military Police Force, not home."

Ken Uchiha shook his head.

As clan leader, he naturally couldn't be as extreme as the clan's younger members.

Although he was also unhappy that the Hokage's faction was wary of the Uchiha, the Uchiha had rebelled first. It was only natural that the other side held a grudge.

And from his position, he could see the difference in strength between them more clearly. For the Uchiha as they were now, rebellion would lead to only one outcome: the clan's destruction.

So ever since the Third Hokage took office, he had been trying to improve relations between the clan and the village, but without much success.

On one hand, the clan's younger members were too arrogant. On the other, they lacked a suitable opportunity.

The Hokage's faction was too wary of the Uchiha for either side to speak openly.

But perhaps there was a chance if they put their hopes in the younger generation.

And then there was...

He didn't remember Tsunade being this strong.

A single ninjutsu could shake the Uchiha Military Police Headquarters from a kilometer away...

What a joke. Did she really have that kind of power?