The Ransacked Room

The light in the room was blazing brightly. Shen Ye frowned and silently pushed the door open, then tiptoed inside.

He couldn't see Tsunade anywhere in the lit areas, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, either.

Even so, Shen Ye still sensed something was wrong. If Tsunade had come home early, she definitely wouldn't have gone into his room.

As he slowly approached his room, Shen Ye clearly heard someone rummaging around inside.

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

"Could he be carrying it around all the time? Maybe we'll find something at Namikaze Minato's place."

"No, I've been keeping an eye on him for days. Ever since we split up at the Ninja Academy, the scroll has been with Shen Ye."

Shen Ye rubbed his chin. So it was the three guys who had cornered him recently, trying to get the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll.

"Those three really are idiots. They didn't even leave anyone outside to keep watch."

Shen Ye had more or less figured out who they were. They were all kids in the same classroom, so a simple lesson would be enough.

"Ahem."

He pretended to cough twice, and a commotion immediately broke out in the room. The three guys hurriedly opened the window and climbed out.

In their haste, they failed to land properly. Three pained cries were abruptly cut short.

Shen Ye smiled helplessly. Falling must have hurt terribly, but they didn't dare make a sound in case he noticed them.

When he opened the door, he found his room in ruins. Clothes had been carelessly tossed into a corner, the bedcovers were a mess, and the cabinet stood half open.

Everywhere he looked, it was obvious the room had been ransacked, but Shen Ye couldn't feel even a trace of anger.

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

As he tidied the room, he set a rule for himself: he wouldn't let anyone provoke him repeatedly.

Suddenly, a brief flash of light came from the corner of the room. It vanished in an instant, but Shen Ye still caught sight of it.

Frowning, he walked over. Beneath a pile of clothes, a scroll had appeared.

He picked it up and turned it over several times in his hands, but couldn't tell what it was about.

He wanted to open it, but he wasn't capable of breaking the seal on it yet. For now, he put it in his ninja tool pouch and decided to investigate when he got the chance.

"Maybe the scroll that suddenly appeared in my room was dropped by those three guys. They're habitual thieves, too. I wonder which clan those brats belong to."

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

Before long, he heard the door open outside. Tsunade slowly walked into the room.

"Did we have a thief? The place is such a mess."

"Big Sis Tsunade, this is your home. What idiot would dare come here to steal?"

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

Tsunade raised a fist and shook it, her expression growing tense.

It was as if Shen Ye was about to be pummeled by a storm of blows the next second. He swallowed and hurriedly shook his head.

As if! Even being playfully tossed around by Tsunade in the name of love was more than Shen Ye could handle. He wouldn't be injured, but he would still have to endure the pain.

When it came to chakra control, no one in the village could compare to Tsunade. Shen Ye didn't dare try his luck, either.

"Enough. I'll take care of the room. You're a boy, so you're clumsy."

Tsunade stopped Shen Ye from continuing to clean.

Shen Ye spread his arms around Tsunade's neck and gently kissed her forehead.

"Big Sis Tsunade is the best to me."

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

Suddenly, someone knocked urgently at the door. Shen Ye frowned and quickened his pace as he headed over.

When he opened the door, he found Shikaku standing outside. His hurried breathing showed how rushed he'd been getting there, and he could barely catch his breath as he spoke.

Shen Ye tried to lead Shikaku into the room, but Shikaku refused.

"The Third Hokage just assigned us a mission. Minato is already waiting for us at the village entrance."

Shen Ye nodded, turned to call out to Tsunade, then followed Shikaku toward the village entrance.

Chakra Perception spread out silently. Shen Ye could clearly sense that the chakra inside Shikaku was very disordered. It looked like he'd been traveling for a long time.

"As a ninja, you're already panting after just a short run. You'll be at a serious disadvantage in battle if you keep that up."

"That's because the Third Hokage's notice came too suddenly. I'd just used up all my chakra training at home."

Before long, the three of them met at the village entrance. Minato looked anxiously at Shikaku and Shen Ye.

Shen Ye, however, wasn't particularly enthusiastic about this mission. After all, to the Third Hokage, they were just a bunch of kids who hadn't graduated yet.

So he wouldn't assign them any particularly difficult missions. Minato was simply in a hurry.

"You two are finally here. Let's get going."

"What's the rush? Shikaku needs to recover first. Otherwise, he'll be at a serious disadvantage in a fight."

"But we're running out of time. The Third Hokage is very anxious."

"What's the mission?"

"Just reconnaissance."

In a desolate area not far from the village, Konoha shinobi had spotted some people. They'd confirmed that there were no other shinobi there.

So the Third Hokage wanted Shen Ye and the other two to thoroughly investigate the area and bring those people back to the village before daybreak to face judgment.

After hearing the whole story, Shen Ye turned to look at Shikaku. This mission didn't require him to be in perfect condition.

"Then you'll follow my lead on this mission. None of us knows whether something unexpected might happen."

Minato and Shikaku had no objections. They'd long since come to regard Shen Ye as their leader, as well as someone they hoped to catch up with in the future.

After making thorough preparations, the three of them set off for their destination, leaping through the trees.

To save time on the journey, Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique, despite the chakra it cost. The three of them traveled farther and farther from the village.

Unbeknownst to them, many uncertainties awaited them in that unknown place. Only through battle could they grow stronger.

Sensing the changes in Minato's chakra, Shen Ye hurriedly stopped him from using the Flying Thunder God Technique again.

"Try to recover your chakra during the rest of the journey."