White Zetsu Discovered

"Nawaki will grow taller. Besides, five foot ten isn't short.

"Orochimaru... well, all right, Orochimaru is almost six feet tall.

"But nearly half the adult men in the Uchiha Clan don't reach five foot ten.

"So you don't need to worry about it so much.

"And height has nothing to do with strength. Lord Hokage isn't especially tall, but that doesn't make him any less powerful," Uchiha Yi said earnestly.

"I hope so. His parents weren't short, and his grandfather was tall too." Tsunade sighed helplessly. "If he's too short, he'll have trouble finding someone to marry."

"You don't need to worry about that, do you? Being a little short or plain-looking won't matter much.

"Once Nawaki grows up, he'll have strength, connections, money..." At the mention of money, Uchiha Yi glanced uncertainly at Tsunade. Actually, Nawaki might have a hard time keeping any money. No amount would be enough to cover Tsunade's spending.

Maybe he'd better not drag some poor girl into this.

With Nawaki's personality, becoming the sort of man who let his sister run his life would hardly be surprising.

He had graduated over half a year ago, and rumor had it that Tsunade took his entire salary. He didn't even have money for snacks. Given the way Tsunade burned through money, even a young lady from the Daimyo's Residence might not dare marry Nawaki!

Uchiha Yi thought of all the people who ended up in the Shinobi World and made Tsunade their first target. He had to admire their nerve. Apparently, they weren't afraid of losing everything they owned.

Tsunade had even asked Uchiha Yi for a loan. Fortunately, he had held firm and refused her. Otherwise, he would never have seen that money again.

Tsunade certainly knew how to earn money, but she spent it far faster.

Apparently sensing Uchiha Yi's strange look, Tsunade glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Nawaki is still young. He shouldn't be hiding money away. I'm doing this for his own good."

"Of course, of course. It's for his own good." Uchiha Yi observed a moment of silence for Nawaki but said nothing more. Better Nawaki than him. Tsunade could keep making trouble for her brother.

"Hmph!" Tsunade decided she was done talking to Uchiha Yi. Clearly, he wasn't going to fund her gambling. He had no heart.

She would have better luck getting on Hyuga Rinka's good side. Kushina Uzumaki was no use either; she would tell Grandma Mito about the gambling. Hyuga Rinka, at least, treated money as though it meant nothing.

"Lady Tsunade, we're counting on you to keep us safe." Tsunade was Tsunade, after all. She commanded respect wherever she went.

It wasn't just that the Land of Fire's daimyo recognized her as the Konoha Princess. Many nobles also respected her as Konoha's finest medical ninja.

Being wealthy, they naturally wanted a good doctor to treat them if they fell ill or were injured. Making a connection with Tsunade might save their lives one day.

In many people's minds, it was better to offend the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, than Tsunade.

"No need to thank me. You're paying us, after all. And thank you for putting your trust in the Land of Fire." Tsunade waved them toward their carriages. They still had a journey ahead of them.

Nobles held considerable status in this world, though Uchiha Yi sometimes struggled to understand why so many capable fighters would risk their lives for ordinary people who couldn't defend themselves.

During the Shinobi World War, it was usually ninja who fought. The fighting rarely reached the nobility.

Even during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Mei Terumi, the Mizukage, had to protect a daimyo.

Why not let useless people like that die?

If the ninja showed they didn't care, Akatsuki and White Zetsu probably wouldn't bother with them either.

The nobles kept ninja and Samurai in their employ. Fewer than ten nobles had over a hundred guards, along with numerous carriages carrying vast amounts of property.

Uchiha Yi's group had even been given a carriage of their own.

"Do you think those people will make a move?" Uchiha Yi asked Tsunade abruptly inside the carriage.

Hyuga Rinka immediately looked at Tsunade. This concerned the real purpose of their trip.

She was putting her life on the line alongside Tsunade. If Tsunade still refused to tell them the truth, she was hardly a reliable teacher.

"What do you mean? Is another village planning to attack these nobles?" Kushina Uzumaki asked Uchiha Yi, puzzled.

"No. We're the real bait." Uchiha Yi shook his head slightly, his gaze turning grave. "Ever since we left Konoha, a number of ninja have been following us. Most are Anbu.

"They aren't here to protect the nobles. They're here to protect us.

"If the other villages learn about our squad, they'll likely come after us."

"Us?" Kushina Uzumaki blinked. "No wonder Grandma Mito told me to be careful. So that's what she meant.

"But why can I sense someone hostile toward us? And why are they so close?"

"Oh? You can sense them, Kushina?" Tsunade asked at once. Her grandmother could sense whether others bore her goodwill or malice. Had Kushina Uzumaki learned to do the same?

"Grandma Mito left some Chakra inside me, and now I can." Kushina Uzumaki scratched her head, pulled back the carriage curtain, and pointed to a nearby tree. "There's someone in that tree."

A thought struck Uchiha Yi. He couldn't sense anything himself. Given Kushina Uzumaki's ability, this was clearly a power of the Nine-Tails.

One possibility immediately came to mind: White Zetsu!

Since I'm already out here, I might as well make the Shinobi World a little more chaotic.

He pulled out a Kunai and threw it at the tree Kushina Uzumaki had indicated. Just as it was about to strike, a pale figure emerged from the tree and dodged it.

"What is that?" Tsunade's pupils contracted. Even she had never seen anyone so strange.

Before anyone else could react, Uchiha Yi flashed in front of White Zetsu and thrust the Sword of the Thunder God at him.