Root Visitors

After that incident, the Hidden Leaf Village returned to peace once more, and everyone methodically prepared for the upcoming Chunin Exams.

Uchiha Sen, meanwhile, stayed home the entire time. In the Third Hokage's words, it was already good enough if this guy stayed home without causing trouble. Likewise, Zabuza and Haku obediently remained in their new home.

The last time Sen turned into that black giant, he had torn down his own house immediately. The Third Hokage had arranged a new residence for him.

"Yoshi! Flame Dragon's Elbow Strike! Roar!"

After last time, the system no longer dared to show Sen educational cartoons. There was something wrong with the guy's head—who knew when he might insert himself into the story again. So now, the system filtered out certain scenes to make sure Sen would not go berserk once more.

Outside the house, Zabuza looked inside with lingering fear, his face full of worry. What were they supposed to do? Ever since Sen's last episode, this behavior had become routine. One moment it was Zeperion Ray... the next, Flame Dragon's Elbow Strike... and most ridiculously, one night in the middle of the night, he suddenly roared, "Demacia!"

Who could put up with that...

After staying in Konoha for a while, Zabuza had learned from various sources that Uchiha Sen had been like this since he was very young. It seemed everyone in Konoha had already grown accustomed to it, but no one could have imagined that this lunatic had unknowingly grown into someone everyone had to look up to.

"Haku, do you think this can go on...?"

He had thought they were relying on a powerful backer, but while Sen certainly was strong... there was something wrong with his brain...

"Uh, I think Sen is great. As long as you treat him sincerely, he can feel it."

With that, Haku smiled, carried over a plate of fruit, and set it on the table.

"Lord Sen, these are freshly cut fruits. They're your favorite honeydew melon."

"Mm-hm, you eat too, you eat too. Come on, let's watch together."

Sen warmly pulled Haku down beside him and pointed at the completely empty air in front of them, introducing it with excitement.

"Listen, the one wearing a little vest and a scarf around his neck is Etherious Natsu Dragneel. He might look kind of dumb, but he's really strong—an A-rank Dragon Slayer Mage."

"The one wearing nothing is called Gray Fullbuster. He's an ice-type Static-Make Mage, and he's A-rank too."

Haku nodded seriously, staring into the empty air as though, under Sen's introduction, he could see the images on that blue screen as well.

Could it be that this system has been exposed? Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Zabuza slapped his forehead... unable to understand... Haku was gradually becoming like Sen... would he someday become like that too...

Something was wrong!

Zabuza vaguely sensed danger approaching and suddenly rose to his feet.

"Swish, swish!"

"Is Uchiha Sen here?"

Without any discernible emotion in their voices, two ninjas wearing eagle-faced masks stood before Zabuza.

"He's here, but the Third Hokage said Sen isn't allowed to leave the house during this time."

As a jonin, Zabuza had his own pride. He might not show it in front of Sen, but why should he put up with two Leaf Village chunin?

He was also a member of an ANBU squad's special operations unit. No matter how one looked at it, they were equals in rank. He had no reason to back down.

"The Hokage wants him."

They relayed the order mechanically, but the two before him were not ANBU members. They were Root ninjas.

Ignoring Zabuza, the two ninjas walked straight into the house. Upon hearing that the Hokage was summoning him, Zabuza did not stop them further, merely following behind. He could not shake the feeling that something was off.

Haku looked at the two people who had suddenly barged in, his gaze questioning.

"ANBU business. The Hokage requests Uchiha Sen's presence."

Perhaps unwilling to create unnecessary complications, the Root members spoke in a formulaic tone.

"Lord Sen? Lord Sen?"

Haku gently nudged the fully absorbed Uchiha Sen.

"Don't disturb me, Haku. It's at the exciting part right now. I'll tell you about it later—Gray is getting beaten up by his senior brother right now. How can Dynamic-Make Magic compare to Static-Make Magic? Gray, beat him up!"

Sen pushed away Haku's little hand, his gaze not shifting in the slightest.

[Ding! Detected two hostile ninjas.]

[Name: Aburame Genzō; Strength: Chunin; Danger Index: 4; Root member acting under Shimura Danzō's orders.]

[Name: Kanegawa Hattori; Strength: Chunin; Danger Index: 4; Root member acting under Shimura Danzō's orders.]

The two sudden notifications split the enormous blue screen into three sections. Sen shouted impatiently.

"Get these two eyesores out of here! They're blocking my cartoon!"

[Okay!]

The two profiles quickly vanished, and the huge blue screen returned to normal. Sen sprawled across the sofa, watching the empty air with great interest.

Aburame Genzō and Kanegawa Hattori exchanged glances and quickly understood each other's intentions. Both reached for their waists at the same time, when the collars behind their necks suddenly tightened.

"Alright, alright. Sen said to get you two out. If you want to fight, I'll accompany you outside. The consequences of fighting in here will be serious."

After spending so much time with Sen, Zabuza had also learned one rule: when Sen was watching cartoons, even the king of heaven himself would not be able to get in his way.

Perhaps because they had been grabbed by the scruffs of their necks, neither of them made a move. After Zabuza threw them outside, they slunk away in disgrace. After all, if they really fought, there was not a single person in this house they could defeat.

Inside the house.

"Haku, listen. This Gray is kind of like you. You both use ice. Uh, but he seems stronger. It would be great if he could teach you. You're too weak. As a subordinate of my strongest warrior, the Hole-Hole Monster, you need to work even harder."

Sen glanced at Haku beside him with some disdain. He was a little weak, but Haku's cooking was pretty good, and every night... uh, anyway, he was great.

"Hahaha, Big Sen, let me tell you! I've successfully passed the first round of testing. Maybe after this, I'll become a chunin!"

Naruto bounced into the room, looking extremely excited.

"Shh~"

Haku gestured for Naruto not to make so much noise.

Unbothered, Naruto sat down on the other side, grabbed an orange from the table, and began peeling it. He then handed half to Sen.

"How far did you get today? So, did Natsu become an S-rank Mage in Fairy Tail yet?"

Sen shook his head and said solemnly.

"Not yet. I don't know why, but I feel like he definitely can. He may not be as strong as me, Big Sen, but he's still a Dragon Slayer Mage, right?"

Naruto tossed a small orange segment into his mouth, nodded, and continued.

"But I still like someone like Erza—a strong person with such heroic bearing. Or a gentle big sister like Mirajane would be nice too~"