"Jiraiya!"
"You've already got an outstanding student like Minato, and you're still trying to steal mine!"
Tsunade gritted her teeth. She never would have imagined that Jiraiya would suddenly show up and ruin her plans.
Especially when it came to a promising young talent like Uchiha Chen, she really didn't want to let him slip away.
"Heh, who would ever complain about having too many outstanding students?"
Jiraiya chuckled, clearly with no intention of backing down.
"Jiraiya, it's been a while. Looks like you've forgotten how hard I can punch!"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes and fixed Jiraiya with a cold stare.
At the same time, she clenched both fists, and her entire presence turned razor-sharp.
"Heh, that's because I always held back before. If we really fought, I, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, wouldn't be afraid of you!"
Jiraiya refused to be outdone, and his own aura burst forth.
The two powerful auras collided in Uchiha Chen's little courtyard, then surged up into the sky.
Uchiha Chen's face twitched as he watched the two of them square off. He slowly raised a hand.
"Um, seniors, I... I... I haven't even said whether I want to take on a teacher!"
As soon as Uchiha Chen finished speaking, Jiraiya and Tsunade both turned to glare at him at almost the same time. In perfect unison, they said,
"No! You have to choose a teacher today!"
Uchiha Chen: ...
So, like, do I even get a choice?
If he really had to choose a teacher, Tsunade and Jiraiya both seemed like good options. After all, they were both members of the Konoha Sannin, and their strength was surely nothing to scoff at.
But... who should he choose?
Uchiha Chen was caught in a dilemma.
Seeing his conflicted expression only made Tsunade angrier. If Jiraiya hadn't suddenly barged in, then according to her plan, she would have easily taken Uchiha Chen on as her student.
But now, everything had changed!
"Jiraiya, take this!"
Tsunade stomped hard, crushing the ground into a deep, spiderweb-shaped crater. Then she shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.
Her right fist, trailing a powerful gust of wind, slammed toward Jiraiya.
"Whoa, you're actually serious?!"
Jiraiya's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He hadn't expected Tsunade to really attack!
With Tsunade's punch carrying more than a little resentment, Jiraiya wasn't about to act tough and take it head-on.
He pushed off with his toes and leaped backward, dodging her blow.
"Rumble!!"
With a deafening crash, rocks flew everywhere as Tsunade smashed another crater into the ground.
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, please stop fighting!"
Seeing the two craters—one big, one small—that had appeared in the courtyard in the blink of an eye, Uchiha Chen was on the verge of tears. His heart ached so much he could barely breathe, and he hurriedly called out to them.
What made Uchiha Chen even more desperate was that Tsunade and Jiraiya both turned back, smiled, and once again spoke in unison,
"Kid, don't worry. I'll take him/her down as quickly as I can and become your teacher!"
The moment they finished speaking, the two blurred into motion and started fighting again.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
In the blink of an eye, two more deep, spiderweb-shaped craters appeared in the ground of Uchiha Chen's courtyard.
"My house!!"
Uchiha Chen let out a mournful cry.
"Please, you two, stop fighting! If you keep this up, you'll tear my home apart!"
But Tsunade and Jiraiya seemed not to hear his cries at all. They just got more and more fired up as they fought.
Before long, the entire courtyard collapsed!
The only thing worth being thankful for was that the house behind Uchiha Chen had somehow survived... right?!
Meanwhile,
The other Uchiha clan members living near Uchiha Chen's home all stared in shock toward the scene.
"What's going on? It sounds like someone's fighting over there!"
"Someone dares cause trouble on the Uchiha Clan's turf? Do they have a death wish?"
"Let's go take a look!"
"Let's go!"
"Hey, wait for me! I'm coming too!"
In no time, countless members of the Uchiha Clan hurried toward Uchiha Chen's home.
Meanwhile, the Konoha Ninja living nearby also stared in astonishment at the walls that had collapsed with a crash and the clouds of dust billowing into the air.
Since Uchiha Chen's home was near the edge of the Uchiha Clan Compound, many ordinary Konoha Ninja lived in the area as well.
As the clouds of dust slowly cleared, members of the Uchiha Clan arrived one after another.
Only then could everyone see what was happening in the courtyard.
Tsunade and Jiraiya stood with grim expressions, staring each other down.
Not far away stood Uchiha Chen, looking stunned and on the verge of tears.
"Hey, aren't those Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya?"
"They sure are!"
"Looks like Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya are fighting?"
"I know Lady Tsunade returned to the village a while ago, but I had no idea when Lord Jiraiya came back."
"Hey, who cares about that? What matters is why Tsunade and Jiraiya are fighting!"
"Exactly! Aren't they both members of the Konoha Sannin? Why are they fighting?"
The Konoha Ninja who had figured out what was going on just stared, baffled.
As everyone wondered what was happening, Jiraiya slowly spoke.
"Tsunade, there's no point in fighting like this. Neither of us can beat the other!"
"So what? No matter what, I'm going to beat you today and show that kid Uchiha Chen that choosing me as his teacher is the smartest choice!"
Tsunade didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.
The two remained locked in a tense standoff, with another fight about to break out at any moment.
The spectators still hadn't figured out what was going on, but they had picked up one key piece of information from Tsunade and Jiraiya's conversation.
"...Um... I think I know why Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya are fighting!"
"They're fighting over a student?!"
"T-that's impossible! They're two of the Konoha Sannin!"
"Who is he? Who's so incredible that he's won both Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya's favor?!"
"That person... I think his name is Uchiha Chen!"
"Uchiha Chen? Someone from the Uchiha Clan?!"
"Hey, isn't that Uchiha Chen?"
Following the direction the ninja was pointing, nearly everyone in the area turned their eyes toward Uchiha Chen.
But the more they looked, the more questions they had!
"So that's Uchiha Chen? He looks completely ordinary."
"Hey, I know this Uchiha Chen, but his talent is terrible. What's going on?"