Konoha Hokage Office,
The Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood by the wall, holding his pipe as he slowly blew out a smoke ring. He stared at the military map on the wall, his face clouded with worry.
The Third Shinobi World War had dragged on, and Konoha's losses were growing more severe.
Though an outstanding ninja like Namikaze Minato could hold the line, Hiruzen Sarutobi still felt it wasn't enough. After all, who would ever complain about having too few outstanding ninjas?
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a figure swiftly leaped through the window and landed on one knee behind the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The person wore a mask and was one of Konoha's Anbu.
"Lord Third, Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade have both returned to the village, but..."
Before the Anbu member could finish, the Lord Third let out an annoyed snort.
"Hmph! Those two unfilial students returned to the village without even coming to see this old man!"
The Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, slowly turned around and glanced at the Anbu member below him before continuing,
"You said 'but.' But what? Don't tell me they've gotten themselves into trouble?"
"Reporting to the Lord Third, Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade got into a fight at the Uchiha Clan Compound!"
"What?!"
"They started fighting as soon as they got back? Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! But what were they doing at the Uchiha Clan's place?"
As soon as the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, heard the news, his old face quickly reddened with anger, and the corners of his eyes twitched. He wanted to teach those two students a lesson right then and there.
"Apparently, the two lords started fighting over a student!"
"And that student is a member of the Uchiha Clan, named Uchiha Chen."
The Anbu member quickly gave a rough account of what had happened with Uchiha Chen.
"Hmm?"
"Uchiha Chen? Isn't he the one who was forced to withdraw from the front lines some time ago because of severe injuries?"
"To think both Tsunade and Jiraiya would think so highly of him.
Looks like this old man needs to get out and stretch his legs, too!"
The moment the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, finished speaking, he vanished like an afterimage with a "whoosh."
Meanwhile,
At Root's base,
Another masked figure—an Anbu member, or rather, a Root operative—was kneeling on the ground, reporting the same events: Jiraiya and Tsunade had fought over Uchiha Chen.
Standing before the Root operative was a middle-aged man whose face was almost entirely wrapped in bandages, leaving only his right eye exposed. A gloomy aura radiated from him.
This man was one of Konoha's High Command, Shimura Danzō.
A glint flashed in Shimura Danzō's narrow right eye as he murmured,
"Uchiha Chen? An unknown Mangekyō Sharingan ability, and both Tsunade and Jiraiya think so highly of him that they even fought over him.
Interesting. Very interesting. It seems Orochimaru does have a good eye.
If it's this person, perhaps our research can make even greater progress."
After Shimura Danzō finished speaking, he, too, disappeared in an instant.
At almost the same time, one or more people were vividly recounting the incident to the heads of Konoha's various clans and the members of Konoha's High Command.
A huge question mark appeared in everyone's minds. Just who was this Uchiha Chen?
"Jiraiya!!"
"Tsunade!!"
Jiraiya and Tsunade stood atop the heads of their respective Summoning Beasts, glaring at each other and roaring. As for the crowd watching, they couldn't have cared less!
A helpless look flickered in Gamabunta's eyes. Then he drew the long sword on his back and made a show of slashing at Tsunade and Katsuyu.
With a "thud," Gamabunta's sword plunged into the earth, leaving only its hilt sticking out.
"Stop! Both of you, stop right now!!"
"Don't fight anymore!"
Just then, after an angry roar, a figure suddenly shot up from below and landed on the sword hilt.
It was Uchiha Chen, the wronged victim whose home was already gone!
Seeing Uchiha Chen suddenly leap out, Tsunade and Jiraiya both froze. But they quickly began shouting again, just as before,
"Uchiha Chen, don't worry! I'll definitely beat him/her and make you willingly take me as your master!"
Uchiha Chen: "I told you to stop! You're not going to kill anyone fighting like that!!"
Tsunade: ???
Jiraiya: ???
What was going on? How had this kid from the Uchiha Clan suddenly...
Though Uchiha Chen's words left Tsunade and Jiraiya confused, they worked surprisingly well. In the end, the two of them stopped fighting.
"You were fighting, weren't you? Why'd you stop?"
Standing on the sword hilt, Uchiha Chen let loose a stream of abuse at Tsunade and Jiraiya, completely undaunted.
"My house is already gone anyway. You might as well go all the way and destroy the whole of Konoha! I'm sure you're capable of it!"
After all, Jiraiya still hadn't used Sage Mode, and Tsunade hadn't used the Strength of a Hundred Technique!
Tsunade: ...
Jiraiya: ...
Only then did Tsunade and Jiraiya realize what had happened. Looking down at the ruins of Uchiha Chen's home, they were immediately overcome by guilt and didn't know what to do.
The Konoha Ninjas watching nearby were stunned to see Tsunade and Jiraiya hang their heads while Uchiha Chen scolded them.
Among them were the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just arrived; the Uchiha Clan's head, Uchiha Fugaku; and a number of Konoha's High Command...
They had never imagined that Uchiha Chen could be so "fearless."
More importantly, Tsunade and Jiraiya hadn't argued back. Instead, they had lowered their heads and listened to his scolding...
"Ahem, well... Chen, this was our fault.
But don't worry. With me, the Toad Sage, here, I'll definitely make sure you get a house.
In fact, if you're willing to become my student, I can even buy you a new house!"
Seeing how much Uchiha Chen cared about his house, Jiraiya had an idea and made him a tempting offer.
"Uchiha Chen, don't listen to Jiraiya. I can get you a new house, too. And whatever ninjutsu or secret techniques you want to learn, I can teach you!"
Seeing Uchiha Chen start to look tempted, Tsunade grew anxious and quickly made her own offer.
"Hahaha, Tsunade, you're drowning in debt yourself. Where are you going to get the money to buy him a house?
"Besides, I can teach him ninjutsu and secret techniques, too!"
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade smugly, his face beaming.
"You, I..."
Tsunade furrowed her brow, wanting to argue, but a sense of helplessness welled up inside her. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
It was true. She didn't have a single coin to her name right now!
"Looks like the fight over the student is almost over!"
The onlookers had also realized that Tsunade didn't stand much of a chance anymore.