The Senju Ancestral Home

While Eiji was still chatting with Tsunade, Kushina came running back.

She threw herself at Eiji and wrapped both arms tightly around his waist. Luckily, Kushina hadn't developed yet, or he might not have survived the impact.

"Eiji! Are you okay!? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, but Lady Tsunade took that guy down. Now we can't prove who he is."

"You ungrateful little brat! I was helping you! But don't worry, he's still alive. Even if he weren't, the Yamanaka Clan could examine his memories and find something useful."

Tsunade was a little annoyed. Eiji was far too composed for a child. Shouldn't he have been scared enough to throw himself into her arms and call her big sister?

His reaction made her arrival feel rather pointless. Hoping to frighten him a little, Tsunade said,

"You'd better worry about yourself. You may not know what Danzo is like, but people who cross him in the village tend to disappear under mysterious circumstances."

"Then what will you do with me, Lady Tsunade? Can you protect me?"

Eiji tilted his head and met Tsunade's gaze with his bright blue eyes.

Only then did Tsunade notice how absurdly good-looking he was. The Uchiha were considered the best-looking clan in Konoha, yet this kid outshone even them.

She had an urge to muss his hair, but she held back.

"Come with me to the Senju Ancestral Home. Where you're living now isn't safe. Tomorrow, I'll go demand an explanation from that old man, the Third Hokage. Don't worry. I won't let that bastard Danzo get away with this!"

Tsunade felt she had been too tolerant of Danzo. How had the Konoha her two granduncles built with their own hands come to this? A ninja charged with protecting the village had tried to murder a fellow villager in broad daylight!

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

"Call me big sister!"

Tsunade thumped Eiji on the head, and he yelped.

She meant well, so there was no need to keep his Cursed Technique active and make her fist miss. Maybe that was why Satoru Gojo had so often let Masamichi Yaga hit him on the head in the original story.

Eiji shrugged. He liked Tsunade quite a bit. In fact, his hostility was reserved for Danzo and those connected to him.

Of Konoha's four top brass, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the only one who could barely pass for a decent person. The other three were no different from the old fossils at Jujutsu High, and Danzo was even worse.

"Really? Eiji can live with us? That's wonderful!"

Kushina didn't think any further than that. She was delighted she'd get to spend more time with Eiji!

When the real Konoha Anbu arrived after hearing the news, they weren't quite sure what to do with the scene before them.

Tsunade stepped forward and explained what had happened, and they decided not to question Ryuuzaki Eiji about the details.

Their paychecks didn't cover asking questions they shouldn't ask.

So they hoisted the barely conscious Shimura Shio onto their shoulders and leaped away.

On the way to the Senju Ancestral Home, Kushina held Eiji's hand and refused to let go, as if she feared he would run into danger again.

"Well, if you're going to stay at our Ancestral Home, shouldn't I charge you a little rent?"

The sight of Eiji looking so unruffled rubbed Tsunade the wrong way. For some reason, she wanted to tease him until that calm expression cracked.

A psychologist might have called it a desire to shatter a perfect façade. It didn't mean Tsunade had a cruel streak; Eiji's composure was simply too unusual.

"But I'm just a kid who isn't even a ninja yet. All I have is five thousand ryo, three kunai, and a few shuriken."

"Who wants your money? How about you wash all the clothes in the house from now on? Hmm... You can do the dishes too! And I told you to call me big sister!"

"You're too lazy, big sis Tsunade!"

Kushina hugged Eiji's arm and stuck her tongue out at Tsunade.

After throwing herself into Eiji's arms earlier, Kushina had grown much bolder. Being this close to him made her happy.

"Sure. I've always lived alone, so I'm used to doing all that."

Tsunade found it a little disappointing that she hadn't managed to make Eiji pull a long face. She had specifically looked into his background that morning.

Because he was so outstanding, his Anbu file was more detailed than those of most children.

His parents had both been ordinary chunin who often went on missions together. They had died on an escort mission, leaving behind six-year-old Ryuuzaki Eiji, who had only just entered the Ninja Academy.

He got along well with the children of the village's major clans. After learning of his parents' deaths, he had spent three days mourning at home, and nearly all his peers from those clans had visited him.

His grades were excellent, and he lived with remarkable discipline. He often ran laps around Konoha with a genin named Might Duy.

The rest of his time went to working odd jobs, fishing, and hunting in the forest. Truthfully, reading all that had made Tsunade's heart ache.

Few children his age in Konoha had such busy lives. Given what he'd been through, Tsunade wouldn't have been surprised if it had affected his personality.

Yet he seemed only a little quiet. Otherwise, there was no sign that anything was wrong.

Lost in thought, Tsunade couldn't resist running her hand through Eiji's soft hair.

Eiji didn't resist. Before long, his hair looked like a bird's nest, and he spent the rest of the walk trying to straighten it.

When they reached the Senju Clan Compound, Eiji was stunned by the grand estate before him.

As someone from a common family, he had never had reason to go near Mito Uzumaki's residence. Seeing it up close now, his eyes widened.

Calling its owners rich hardly did the place justice. He had never seen the Daimyo's Palace, but he had a feeling it couldn't be much grander than this.

Then again, Hashirama Senju had been the God of Shinobi in his day. Of course his family was immensely wealthy.

Any random item from the estate could probably have paid for Eiji's shabby little room.

But remembering that Tsunade would eventually give up on everything after Nawaki's death and sell off the Senju Clan Compound's treasures to pay her debts, Eiji felt a pang of regret. Even an estate this magnificent would one day fall into decline.

With that thought, Eiji gave Tsunade a complicated look. She was, after all, the biggest sucker in the Shinobi World.

He didn't ogle her, though. For one thing, that would be rude. For another, she had yet to grow into the formidable figure she became in the original story, so there wasn't much to ogle.

"Well, kid? Our estate's a lot grander than your little room, isn't it?"

Tsunade meant no insult by it. She was only teasing Eiji.

"Yeah. I'd expect nothing less from the home of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi. Did he plant all these trees himself?"

Eiji didn't feel inferior in the slightest. He spoke to Tsunade as naturally as ever. With power came confidence.