Kill Him!

Tsunade, granddaughter of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, is known alongside Jiraiya and Orochimaru as one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. She is soft on the inside but tough on the outside, often called Konoha's toughest woman or its greatest brawler. She is also a compulsive gambler who loses every bet she makes, earning her the reputation as the number one "fat sheep" among gamblers in the ninja world. In the original story, she would go on to become the Fifth Hokage of Konoha after the death of Hiruzen Sarutobi, sixty years after the founding of the village.

Actually, for most fans of the series, these details are secondary. The most dazzling feature of Tsunade in the original work is... her figure!

Is Kushina Uzumaki's aunt Tsunade? Is that true?

Li Tong is not sure, as the original work never mentioned this relationship. However, there is definitely a connection between Tsunade and Kushina Uzumaki. Tsunade herself possesses the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, as her grandmother was Mito Uzumaki, and Kushina Uzumaki hails from the Uzumaki Clan.

Therefore, Tsunade could be considered Kushina Uzumaki's aunt, just not by direct blood. In terms of seniority, calling her Aunt Tsunade doesn't seem entirely wrong.

"Tsunade, huh," Li Tong muttered, then changed the subject: "What time is it now?"

"Six-thirty in the morning," Chen He said.

"No, no, I don't mean the time of day, I mean what year is it?"

"You don't even remember what year it is?"

"Correct."

"The thirty-second year of Konoha, April."

"The thirty-second year..." Li Tong mused, "Tsunade was born in the tenth year of Konoha, so she is twenty-two this year. Kushina Uzumaki was born in the twenty-fourth year of Konoha, making her eight... The Second Shinobi World War will break out in full force this year. Currently, the one leading Konoha is Hiruzen Sarutobi, who is in his prime at forty years old..."

"Let's go." Chen He scanned Li Tong, who had finished dressing. "I'll take you to where you'll be staying."

Early in the morning, the Konoha hidden village, which had been silent for the night, began its new day of hustle and bustle.

The busy streets were crowded with people, lively and vibrant. Roadside shops had already opened to welcome the first wave of customers, vendors pushed their carts while calling out their wares, ordinary Konoha residents carrying bamboo baskets haggled with shopkeepers, and groups of ninjas moved back and forth.

Li Tong walked through the bustling streets with Chen He, looking around, but he was met with many strange gazes and whispers.

"Look at that kid, heterochromatic eyes."

"They look really cool."

"Cool? They look so weird."

"He's actually with an Anbu officer. Who is he?"

"A Konoha ninja? How come I don't recognize him?"

Walking through the market, Li Tong confirmed two things. First, he is the only ninja in Konoha with heterochromatic eyes; because this feature is so distinct, the fact that he is a defector from Amegakure will soon be exposed. Second, Anbu ninjas are held in great awe; as they walked down the street, some ninjas with far higher reputations than Chen He would actively step aside to give way to him.

Leaving the busy district, Chen He led Li Tong onto a forest path.

"Your defection won't stay hidden for long," Chen He said again. "For now, you can only live alone. We will arrange for people to protect you in secret."

"Protect, you say?" Li Tong's brow twitched. He understood that this was not just protection—it was surveillance!

"You will need to take care of your own meals. Also, try your best to avoid conflict with others. Your identity will cause you to face many difficulties; you must be patient. It won't be for long. As long as you earn enough merit in Konoha, you will become a true Konoha ninja."

By the time Chen He finished speaking, Li Tong could already see their destination.

At the end of the path ahead was an open space with a lake, and beside the lake stood a wooden cabin.

"This is it." Chen He stopped with Li Tong in front of a bench outside the cabin. "You will live here from now on. Daily necessities have been prepared for you. This lake connects to an underground river, so the water is fresh; you can just take what you need for daily use. Also..."

As Chen He spoke, he pulled a palm-sized cloth bag from his robes and handed it to Li Tong.

"This is your living allowance for the month, considered a relief fund. I will bring you this relief fund every month for the next year."

Li Tong took the bag and opened it, finding some metal coins and two paper notes. In the original Naruto story, there were banks, but that was sixty years into Konoha's history; it is only the thirty-second year now, and banks have yet to develop. Li Tong had no idea what the purchasing power of this money was.

"I'm leaving. Good luck." Chen He finished his instructions, turned, and walked away.

Li Tong watched Chen He's retreating figure, his gaze steady, lost in thought. It was a long while before he turned and walked toward the wooden cabin.

Hearing the sound of the door opening behind him, Chen He, who had just reached the edge of the forest, glanced back slightly, then performed a hand seal and vanished into thin air.

In the forest, a hundred meters away from the cabin.

Chen He appeared out of thin air on a tree branch.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five black shadows darted to Chen He's side one after another, bowing in unison: "My Lord."

"You, you, you, you, you—go monitor him!" Chen He ordered quickly. "You two, you can start spreading the news."

"Yes!"

The five acknowledged the order and vanished in a flash.

Chen He turned his head again to look in the direction of the cabin, his eyes behind the mask filled with complex emotions. Finally, he sighed, performed a hand seal, and vanished.

******

April 15th, the thirty-second year of Konoha. The Third Hokage of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, decided to restart the surrender acceptance program. Li Tong, a defector from Amegakure, defected to Konoha, becoming the first step of this new program.

By that morning, the news had spread like the wind throughout Konoha, sparking widespread discussion. No one dared to oppose the Third Hokage, who could make decisions single-handedly, but almost everyone was pessimistic about the plan. This was not the first time such a plan had been initiated, and every previous attempt had ended in failure.

Many Konoha ninjas understood the reason for these failures: ninjas who defected to Konoha after being captured by them usually had the blood of Konoha ninjas on their hands. To defect to Konoha, they had to betray their original village, meaning they not only had to endure assassination attempts from outside Konoha but were also very likely to be targeted by foul play from within the village.

At noon, in the Hyuga Clan compound.

Deep within the large estate, in a massive indoor training hall.

His soles struck the floor repeatedly, emitting harsh friction sounds as the youth in a white Japanese-style martial arts uniform darted and shifted across the training ground; his long legs were like whips, his fists heavy as mountains, and the wind from his kicks sharp as blades!

Around the training ground, twelve adult ninjas of the Hyuga Clan stood like guardians, watching the youth in the center with expressions of reverence.

Whoosh!

A whirlwind suddenly whipped up before the training ground entrance, and a tall, thin Hyuga ninja appeared out of thin air, dropping to one knee as he said, "Young Master Hizashi."

The youth in the arena abruptly ceased his movements, letting his arms hang at his sides as he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, only then turning to look at the tall, thin ninja with a cold gaze. "What is it?"

"The ghost who murdered Lord Kaiyang has been released by the Anbu; the Hokage has decided to recruit him as a Konoha ninja," the tall, thin ninja reported respectfully.

Hizashi Hyuga immediately frowned, narrowing his eyes as he slowly clenched his fists, the muscles on his face twitching.

Kaiyang Hyuga was a Chunin of the Hyuga Clan and a member of the Hyuga Scout Unit.

Within the Hyuga Clan, Kaiyang Hyuga was a person of average talent, possessing neither fame nor importance, but ten years ago, he had served as the teacher to both the Main Branch young heir, Hiashi Hyuga, and the Branch House young heir, Hizashi Hyuga.

Ten years ago, when Hiashi Hyuga and Hizashi Hyuga were only four years old and just beginning their training, it was Kaiyang Hyuga who had painstakingly instructed them, laying a solid foundation for their future paths of cultivation.

The Hyuga Clan was a clan with strict hierarchies, but that did not mean they were devoid of emotion.

Hizashi Hyuga had held this teacher in high regard and had looked after him quite well; to prevent Kaiyang Hyuga from dying in a wartime mission, he had even petitioned his father to have Kaiyang Hyuga transferred to the Konoha Patrol Force, where his daily duties consisted of nothing more than patrolling the perimeter of Konoha—a job with an extremely low level of danger.

Yet, even so, Kaiyang Hyuga had still died!

He had died suddenly!

Just one day ago, he had been killed by an assassin from Amegakure. That assassin had subsequently been captured by the Anbu, and Hizashi Hyuga had been waiting for news of the assassin's execution, never expecting that...

"Kill him, and have Anan do it," Hizashi Hyuga commanded indifferently after a moment of deliberation. "Within three days, I want to see his corpse hanging from the flagpole at the village entrance."

"Understood!" The tall, thin ninja accepted the order without hesitation, performed a hand seal, and vanished.