The Two of You, Please Stay!

"I don't get it. Uchiha Chen's talent is just as average as ours. Why has he managed to win the favor of both Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade?"

"As envious as I am, I'm more curious to know who he'll actually choose as his master."

"Hahaha, me too!"

"My guess is he'll choose Lord Jiraiya!"

One of the watching chunin stroked his chin, lost in thought.

"I agree!"

"That's what I think, too..."

The other surrounding ninja chimed in with their agreement.

"No, no, no. I still think he'll choose Lady Tsunade as his master!"

However, some dissenting opinions began to surface.

"Why? Looking at the current situation, Lord Jiraiya clearly has the advantage. Besides, having a student as outstanding as Lord Minato is proof enough of Lord Jiraiya's teaching ability. If it were me, I would definitely choose Lord Jiraiya!"

The chunin who spoke first analyzed the situation.

The others nodded to themselves as they listened to his reasoning.

"No, no, no. It's precisely because Lord Jiraiya already has such an excellent student as Lord Minato that he should choose Lady Tsunade instead!"

"Both Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya are members of the Legendary Sannin, but Lady Tsunade has never had a truly outstanding successor. That's why she would be even more devoted to teaching her student..."

"Huh, now that you put it that way, that actually makes some sense."

Jiraiya and Tsunade could naturally hear the surrounding gossip perfectly clearly.

"Chen, don't listen to their nonsense. If you become my student, I will do everything in my power to teach you!"

Jiraiya dropped his playful demeanor, looking at Uchiha Chen with a rare, earnest expression.

As for why he was so determined to snatch this student from Tsunade after only meeting him once, it was naturally because Uchiha Chen was capable of performing a perfect Sage Mode.

Although it was clear that Uchiha Chen had only just begun to master Sage Mode, it reminded Jiraiya of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy. He had previously thought that Nagato, with his Rinnegan, might be the Child of Prophecy, but seeing Uchiha Chen now, Jiraiya's resolve began to waver. Perhaps Uchiha Chen was the true Child of Prophecy?

However, Uchiha Chen acted as if he hadn't heard Jiraiya at all, pointing instead at Gamabunta and Katsuyu.

"Aren't you two going to dismiss them yet?"

"Right, right, right. We'll undo the Summoning Jutsu right now!"

With a soft pop, the two massive summons vanished instantly, along with the large blade beneath Uchiha Chen's feet.

As soon as the three of them landed, Uchiha Chen was met with Jiraiya's eager gaze.

"Lord Jiraiya, please don't look at me like that. While I respect you greatly, I have no intention of taking on a master at this time."

Uchiha Chen offered an apologetic look.

"What... are you saying you're going to choose Tsunade as your master instead?"

Jiraiya's hand froze in mid-air as he asked in disbelief.

"Uchiha Chen... are you serious?"

Tsunade, standing to the side, also looked up in shock, staring at Uchiha Chen with pleasant surprise.

"Uh, Lady Tsunade, you're celebrating too early. I won't be choosing you as my master either."

Uchiha Chen sighed slightly, offering her the same apologetic look.

He hadn't dared to refuse them directly before for fear that Tsunade and Jiraiya might destroy his home in a fit of rage, but now that his home was already gone, there was nothing left to worry about.

"Why is that? Do you already have someone else in mind?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a glance, then turned back to Uchiha Chen, asking in unison, still unable to believe it.

"That's not it. Like I said before, I just don't have any interest in taking on a master right now."

"I've only just recovered from my severe injuries, and I just want to rest for a while."

For Uchiha Chen, his max-level comprehension was the foundation of his standing in the Naruto World. As long as he wanted to, he could learn any secret technique or forbidden jutsu; having a teacher or not made little difference to him.

He didn't want anyone to discover this cheat, not even Tsunade or Jiraiya!

So, Uchiha Chen rolled his eyes and came up with a reason that sounded plausible enough.

Hearing this, the expressions of Tsunade and Jiraiya shifted, and they both fell silent. It was true; they knew better than anyone the cruelty of war.

Unlike the silent trio, the watching ninja had their eyes wide with disbelief. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and the other high-ranking officials of Konoha looked no less shocked.

"What? Did I hear that right? This Uchiha Chen actually refused to take on a master?!"

"What is going on? How could this happen?"

"Those are the Legendary Sannin! Countless people would sharpen their heads just to win the favor of either Lady Tsunade or Lord Jiraiya. Forget becoming their student—even just being guided by them once would be enough to benefit us for a lifetime!"

"And yet, Uchiha Chen refused. Could it be that his brain was damaged from this injury?"

"No, no, no. On the contrary, I think Uchiha Chen's actions show that he has a good sense of self-awareness!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Heh, isn't that easy to understand? Uchiha Chen doesn't have much talent to begin with; who knows what kind of tricks he used to gain the favor of those two. If he really became a disciple of one of them and it was exposed later, his fate would be hard to predict. Since that's the case, it's better not to take a master at all—that way, he can even create some hype!"

"Hiss, that brat from the Uchiha clan is truly cunning!"

Regarding Uchiha Chen's refusal to take a master, everyone present wore different expressions; while shocked, they were also speculating on why Uchiha Chen would do such a thing.

"Since you have no intention of taking a master for now, I won't force you. If you change your mind in the future, you must come find me!"

Jiraiya let out a deep sigh, walked over to Uchiha Chen's side, patted his shoulder, and said with a look of regret.

He truly wanted to take this disciple, but unfortunately, he couldn't force the boy.

"Uchiha Chen, you are also welcome here at any time."

Tsunade likewise stepped forward and promised earnestly.

After she finished speaking, she glared fiercely at Jiraiya.

She still felt that if it weren't for Jiraiya suddenly cutting in, according to her plan, she would have definitely taken Uchiha Chen under her wing.

"Since you have no intention of taking a master now, we won't stay here to bother you any longer!"

After Tsunade finished her farewells, Jiraiya nodded, also preparing to leave.

"We'll see you next time!"

Just as Tsunade and Jiraiya turned to leave, Uchiha Chen suddenly shouted in a panic, "Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, please wait!!"