Konoha,
Uchiha Clan Compound, Uchiha Chen's residence,
Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
A series of hurried knocks pounded on the door...
"Coming, coming! Why are you knocking so hard?"
"If you break my front door, are you going to pay for it?"
"Damn it, that old bastard Uchiha Sanhe still hasn't brought the money over, even after all these months. Just wait until I have some free time—I'll march over there and get my money back!"
Uchiha Chen came out of the inner room, grumbling, and walked straight to the front door.
With a creak, Uchiha Chen opened the door. A member of the Anbu stood outside, wearing a cat-faced mask and a white robe.
Uchiha Chen knew this Anbu member. He was one of the Anbu guards assigned exclusively to the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and went by the codename Xiang!
The only reason Uchiha Chen knew him was Jiraiya.
As it happened, ever since Uchiha Chen and Jiraiya had started calling each other brothers five months ago, Jiraiya had been living at Chen's place.
Whenever the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, needed to speak with Jiraiya, he sent Xiang to deliver the message. After a few visits, Uchiha Chen had gotten to know him.
But with Jiraiya living there, and Tsunade dropping by from time to time to keep people in line, those who had wanted to cause Uchiha Chen trouble had never found a good opportunity.
It had also solved quite a few of Chen's problems indirectly.
Xiang, however, showed no sign of alarm at Uchiha Chen's grumbling. Clearly, this wasn't the first time he'd witnessed such a scene.
"Big Brother, Xiang's here. I bet the old man wants something from you again!"
The moment he saw Xiang, Uchiha Chen guessed why he'd come. He didn't even bother asking and simply turned toward the inner room and called out,
After all, Xiang came to see Jiraiya every time.
Although Xiang stood perfectly still, the face beneath his mask twitched now and then. It seemed that only Uchiha Chen, Jiraiya, and a few others dared to call the Lord Third an old man...
"No, I'm not going. Tell the old man I'm going out to gather material. I'm busy!"
Before long, Jiraiya's lazy voice came from the inner room.
What kind of gathering material? He was at Uchiha Chen's place every day and never even went out. What material was he gathering?
Though Xiang was thinking exactly that, he didn't dare say it aloud.
Xiang took a step forward and cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone.
He was wearing a mask. Would that really make his voice louder?
Uchiha Chen watched Xiang's actions, unable to resist the urge to complain inwardly.
Xiang shouted, his voice still muffled beneath the mask,
"Lord Jiraiya, this time the Lord Third only asked me to pass along a message. Lord Namikaze Minato has returned to the village!"
Namikaze Minato? He was back in the village? Did that mean the Third Shinobi World War was about to end?
Hearing that Minato had returned, several thoughts immediately sprang into Uchiha Chen's mind.
While Uchiha Chen was lost in thought, Jiraiya had somehow appeared beside him. He quickly asked,
"What? Minato's back?"
"Yes. Lord Minato is with the Lord Third right now," Xiang replied honestly.
"Chen, want to come with me and meet Minato?"
Jiraiya tilted his head and invited Uchiha Chen along.
"Let's go!"
Uchiha Chen accepted without a second thought.
Aside from Jiraiya, the person in the original story who inspired the most fondness and admiration in Uchiha Chen was Namikaze Minato.
He was a man who could only be described as perfect—the Yondaime!
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
As soon as they spoke, Jiraiya and Uchiha Chen used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished in two streaks of motion.
"Xiang, sorry for the trouble, but could you close the front door on your way out~~"
Before Xiang could even marvel at how fast Jiraiya and Uchiha Chen's Body Flicker Technique was, Uchiha Chen's voice reached him. Xiang instantly felt as though his whole world had gone wrong!
Konoha Hokage Office,
Looking at Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi before him, the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stroked his goatee with satisfaction.
These two had been the most outstanding performers on Konoha's side during this war.
More importantly, they were both still young: one was twenty-five, the other fourteen. And they were teacher and student.
Most importantly of all, Namikaze Minato was the student of his own student. The legacy had been passed down!
"Minato, this time..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe and was just about to speak when two sharp whistling sounds came from outside the window.
The sounds drew closer. Then, with two quick whooshes, two streaks of motion flashed past, and two more people appeared in the Hokage Office.
"Yo, old man! I brought someone to see you!"
The two newcomers were Uchiha Chen and Jiraiya, who had just arrived.
"See me? Do you even believe yourself when you say that?"
The Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"Teacher!"
Namikaze Minato was delighted to see his teacher, Jiraiya.
"Haha, Minato! I've brought you something good this time!"
Jiraiya laughed and pulled a book from his robe, then handed it to Namikaze Minato.
Uchiha Chen glanced at it. The so-called good thing was a novel Jiraiya had written himself, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja. Uchiha Chen had read it; it was just okay. Compared with the novels by the great authors he'd read in his previous life, it fell a fair bit short.
"Thank you, Teacher. You've really gone to a lot of trouble!"
Namikaze Minato's eyes lit up as he took the book. It was clear he really liked this novel.
While Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato reminisced about their teacher-student bond, Uchiha Chen's eyes darted around as he took in the people in the room.
There weren't many people there. Besides him, there were only four others.
He knew the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Jiraiya.
Then there was the Namikaze Minato talking with Jiraiya. With his striking yellow hair, blue eyes, and sunny, handsome face, Uchiha Chen recognized him at a glance. The real man looked almost as if he'd stepped straight out of the manga!
The last person was the white-haired boy with his face covered beside Namikaze Minato. There was no need to ask—that was Hatake Kakashi. Judging by his dispirited look, Rin Nohara must have met the same fate as in the original story: she had chosen to die by Hatake Kakashi's Chidori...
After a good while, the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, rapped on the desk to get everyone's attention.
"Enough. Quiet down. I didn't call you all here so you could catch up!"
Once everyone had stopped, Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat and continued,
"Minato, your performance this time was astonishing. With your strength alone, you dealt a heavy blow to the main forces of Iwagakure and Kirigakure, giving Konoha some much-needed breathing room. That's a great achievement."
"But..."