The Messy Room

The lights in the room were blazing bright. Shen Ye frowned, pushed the door open silently, and crept inside on tiptoe.

The areas illuminated by the light showed no sign of Tsunade, yet nothing seemed out of the ordinary either.

However, Shen Ye still felt something was off; if Tsunade had returned home early, she would never have entered his room.

Approaching his room slowly, Shen Ye could already clearly hear someone rummaging through things inside.

"Damn it, where did that guy hide it?"

"Could he be carrying it on him all the time? Perhaps Namikaze Minato might have some leads."

"No way. I've been observing for days. Ever since we parted at the Ninja Academy, the scroll has been with Shen Ye the whole time."

Shen Ye rubbed his chin. So, it was those three guys from earlier who had cornered him, trying to get their hands on the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll.

"What a bunch of idiots. They didn't even think to leave one person at the door to keep watch."

Shen Ye had already figured out who these three were; they were just kids from his own class. A simple lesson would suffice.

"Ahem."

He faked two coughs. A flurry of chaotic noise erupted from the room, and the three guys scrambled to open the window and vault out.

Because they were in such a rush, they failed to land steadily, and three pained wails were cut abruptly short.

Shen Ye smiled helplessly. Falling like that must have been incredibly painful, yet they didn't dare make a sound for fear of being discovered by him.

Pushing the door open, he found his room in shambles: clothes tossed carelessly into corners, a messy quilt, and a cabinet left half-open.

Everywhere he looked, it was clear the place had been ransacked, yet Shen Ye didn't feel a shred of anger.

"If they stop here, I might consider letting them off. Otherwise, if I lose my temper, it won't be something the three of them can handle."

As he tidied the room, he set a rule for himself: one should not be provoked repeatedly.

Suddenly, a brief flash of light emanated from the corner of the room. It vanished in an instant, but Shen Ye's eyes had caught it.

Frowning, he walked over. Buried beneath a pile of clothes, a scroll lay revealed.

He picked up the scroll and turned it over in his palm a few times, but he couldn't tell what it was about.

He wanted to open it, but with his current abilities, he couldn't break the seal, so he tucked it into his ninja tool pouch to investigate later.

"The scroll that suddenly appeared in the room might have been dropped by those three. They're repeat offenders, too. I wonder which clan those little brats belong to."

Shen Ye shook his head helplessly and continued to clean up the mess.

Before long, the sound of a door opening echoed from outside, and Tsunade walked into the room slowly.

"Did we have a thief? It looks so messy in here."

"Sister Tsunade, this is your house. Which blind fool would dare come here to steal?"

"What do you mean by that, kid? Are you saying your sister is violent?"

Tsunade raised her fist and shook it, her expression tightening.

It felt as if a torrential storm of punches was about to rain down on Shen Ye the next second. He gulped and shook his head frantically.

Just kidding—even if Tsunade were to "play" with him in the name of love, it wasn't something Shen Ye could endure. He wouldn't be injured, but the pain would be real.

When it came to Chakra Perception and control, no one in the village could compare to Tsunade, and Shen Ye dared not test her lightly.

"Alright, leave the cleaning to me. You're just a clumsy boy."

Tsunade stopped Shen Ye's movements.

Shen Ye opened his arms, wrapped them around Tsunade's neck, and planted a light kiss on her forehead.

"Sister Tsunade is the best to me."

"Shen Ye, are you home? Shen Ye, are you there?"

Urgent knocking sounded from outside. Shen Ye frowned and quickened his pace to the door.

He pulled it open to find Shikaku standing there. His rapid breathing showed he had rushed over in a hurry, and he was panting as he spoke.

Shen Ye tried to pull Shikaku into the room, but was rebuffed by his actions.

"The Third Hokage has issued us a temporary mission. Namikaze Minato is already waiting for us at the village gate."

Shen Ye nodded, called out to Tsunade, and followed behind Shikaku toward the village gate.

He let his Chakra Perception spread out silently; he could clearly feel that the chakra within Shikaku was in total disarray, likely due to the long run.

"As a ninja, getting winded just from a bit of running? You're going to be at a huge disadvantage in a real fight."

"It's not my fault the Third's notice was so sudden. I had just finished exhausting all my chakra training at home."

Soon enough, the three of them gathered at the village gate. Namikaze Minato looked at Shikaku and Shen Ye with an anxious expression.

However, Shen Ye didn't hold much anticipation for this mission. After all, to the Third Hokage, they were just little kids who hadn't even graduated yet.

Therefore, he wouldn't assign anything too difficult; it was just a matter of urgency.

"You two finally arrived. Let's get moving."

"What's the rush? Shikaku needs to recover his state, otherwise, we'll be at a huge disadvantage if we have to fight."

"But we don't have much time left; the Third Hokage is extremely anxious."

"What exactly is the mission?"

"It is merely a reconnaissance."

In a desolate area not far from Konoha, ninjas from the village had discovered the presence of humans, though it was confirmed that no other ninjas were among them.

Therefore, the Third Hokage wanted Shen Ye and his two companions to go and conduct a thorough inspection, bringing those people back to the village before dawn to await judgment.

Having heard the full details, Shen Ye turned to look at Shikaku; such a mission did not require them to be at full physical strength.

"Then, for this mission, you must follow my commands completely. We have no idea if any unexpected situations might arise."

Minato and Shikaku had no objections to this; both had long since regarded Shen Ye as their leader, as well as the goal they would strive to surpass in the future.

After making full preparations, the three of them set off toward their destination, leaping continuously through the forest.

To save time on the journey, Minato spared no chakra to utilize the Flying Thunder God, and the three moved further and further away from the village.

Little did they know that great variables were waiting for them in that unknown place, and it was only through battle that one could truly grow.

Sensing the fluctuations in Minato's chakra, Shen Ye quickly stopped him from continuing to use the Flying Thunder God.

"Try to recover your chakra during the remainder of this journey."