The Three Young Ninjas

"Nawaki, what are you thinking about? Why are you staring blankly at the mirror?"

The voice from behind startled Nawaki out of his deep thoughts. Seeing a familiar figure in the mirror, he quickly turned around and called out to the person behind him with a look of pleasant surprise: "Tsunade! When did you get back?"

It turned out that the person who had entered Nawaki's room without a sound and stood behind him was none other than his older sister in this life, Senju Tsunade.

Although she was still only an eleven-year-old girl, the tempering of numerous missions had already given her a hint of the demeanor of the Sannin.

Her body, which had begun to develop early, was already lithe and graceful, showing the first signs of maturity. Her long golden hair paired with her exquisite facial features gave her an aura that was one-third charming, one-third heroic, one-third youthful vitality, and one-third the tenderness she only revealed in front of family.

As a disciple of the Third Hokage, Tsunade had many missions to complete with her two teammates, who were also Jonin, so she was usually not at home, only returning to accompany her family during breaks between missions. On ordinary days, Nawaki was cared for by Mito Uzumaki. Tsunade had just received a new mission and left the village a few days ago, so he hadn't expected her to return so soon.

Did she rush to finish her mission and hurry back to Konoha just to spend my birthday with me? Looking at Tsunade's travel-worn appearance, Nawaki felt deeply moved; even his family from his previous life could hardly compare to this.

I will definitely protect you, Tsunade! Nawaki silently resolved in his heart.

Seeing her younger brother's look of surprise, Tsunade felt very gratified. With a smile, she feigned dissatisfaction and said, "What is this! How many times have I told you? You must call me 'Sister'! You really are a disobedient little brat."

After saying this, Tsunade unleashed her signature head-patting move, ruffling his hair into a complete mess.

Nawaki struggled to shake his head to dodge her devilish claws, saying, "I've told you so many times! Don't mess with my hair; it will affect my growth. Do you want your little brother to grow up to be a shorty?"

Hearing Nawaki's threat, Tsunade said with amusement, "Where did you get such a strange theory? Even I, a medical ninja, have never heard of it."

However, she quickly withdrew her hand, just in case it were true. She didn't want to do anything that might harm her brother, even if there was only the slightest possibility.

"Today is your birthday; why aren't you out playing with your friends instead of hiding in your room staring at the mirror?" Tsunade asked with a hint of heartache as she looked at her brother, who was feigning annoyance.

Tsunade was quite worried about her precocious genius brother. Although he was well-behaved, very mature in his actions, and clever, he never played with children his own age, spoke little, and always liked to sit quietly in a daze. At such a young age, he already had a look of heavy-heartedness that made one's heart ache. Only in front of her and their grandmother would he talk, laugh, and play like a normal child.

Nawaki, feeling proud of his "wit," rolled his eyes while fixing the hairstyle Tsunade had ruined in the mirror, saying, "Do you want me to roll around in the dirt with infants who can't even speak clearly, or go play in the mud with those childish brats running around the village?"

Hearing her brother's words, Tsunade was momentarily speechless. Thinking of the dignified young heir of the Senju clan—her genius brother—rolling in a mud pile with a group of brats with a weird smile on his face, she couldn't help but shudder.

"Alright, it seems being too precocious isn't entirely a good thing. As it happens, I brought two friends today to introduce to you. I believe you will definitely have a common language." Tsunade said to Nawaki in the mirror.

Hearing this, Nawaki turned around and asked with interest, "Oh? Are they the other two members of your squad, Jiraiya and Orochimaru?"

"What a clever little brat, though not cute at all. Grandmother is currently hosting them. Everyone came to celebrate your birthday, so let's go. It's not good to keep guests waiting." As she spoke, Tsunade grabbed Nawaki and hurried out the door.

Inside the main hall of the Senju clan, Mito Uzumaki was conversing with two young ninjas when a clear, beautiful voice suddenly came from the doorway: "Grandmother! I've brought my brother."

Two figures, one large and one small, stepped through the door. "This is my brother, Senju Nawaki. Don't underestimate him just because he's young; his wisdom might even be higher than a certain idiot's!"

"What do you mean by 'a certain idiot'? Who are you referring to, Tsunade? It must be that guy Orochimaru, right?" A delinquent youth with white hair and oil paint on his face jumped up from his chair and asked.

Sitting beside him, a youth with long black hair, snake-like pupils, and a cold, gloomy temperament calmly spat out two words in his unique voice: "Idiot!"

These two were Tsunade's teammates, the future Sannin, Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

Jiraiya, hearing Orochimaru's words, asked with annoyance, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

However, neither Tsunade nor Orochimaru intended to answer his question.

"Jiraiya, they mean that whoever admits it is the idiot!" Seeing Jiraiya's awkward situation, Nawaki couldn't bear it and "kindly" spoke up to clarify for him.

Tsunade laughed heartily upon hearing this: "My brother is indeed smarter than you! That's right, whoever admits it first is the idiot!"

Jiraiya's face turned gloomy as he said, "What a precocious brat, not cute at all."

Orochimaru seemed very interested in Nawaki. He stared fixedly at him with his cold, snake-like pupils, unconsciously emitting a chilling killing intent that enveloped Nawaki.

If it were an ordinary child, they would have been unable to move from fear by now. But as a transmigrator, Nawaki was extremely familiar with him, so he wasn't intimidated at all. He curiously examined Orochimaru's snake eyes and said calmly, "You must be my sister's partners, Orochimaru and Jiraiya. This humble one is Senju Nawaki; it is a pleasure to meet you both."

"To be able to move freely under my killing intent—for a one-year-old brat, that is truly astonishing courage and intelligence! A natural-born ninja! I am full of curiosity about your future!" As Orochimaru spoke, he extended his snake-like tongue, and saliva dripped onto the floor.

Nawaki looked at his tongue and secretly muttered to himself, Orochimaru could satisfy any woman just with that tongue. He really is a major villain! Hmm? What am I thinking? I must have been infected by Jiraiya; that must be it!

Jiraiya felt that the way Nawaki looked at him was a bit strange. Was he looking down on him?

"I say, Orochimaru, you're being too reckless! To just let out killing intent like that here... Lady Mito, please forgive him. This guy is always like this; he can't control his emotions when he gets excited." Jiraiya apologized to Mito Uzumaki on Orochimaru's behalf, though in reality, he was just making excuses for him. These two really did have a deep "bond."