Chinatsu grew busier

Inside the Uchiha Residence.

Naruto and Sasuke had gone back to their usual "loving" selves, each training on his own, with no sign of how eager they had been to beat each other flat at the Ninja Academy.

"Hey~ I know I designed your training routines, but didn't I include independent training too? You could spar with each other for fun. I think that would work a little better than fighting me."

Chinatsu sat in a chair inside the residence, propping up her head as she watched Naruto and Sasuke train separately in the open yard.

It wasn't that having Chinatsu as a sparring partner was bad, but the gap in their strength was too wide. A desperate fight between evenly matched opponents would help them recognize their shortcomings and improve. Most importantly, it would let them taste the joy of winning after fighting with everything they had.

Naruto's and Sasuke's faces instantly stiffened at her words. Did she see us fighting at the Ninja Academy?

They were so reluctant to let Chinatsu see them fight because they didn't want to embarrass themselves in front of her.

Never mind that the moves they considered ingenious might look like making a fuss over nothing to Chinatsu. More importantly, what if they lost to the other in front of her... Gasp! They couldn't even bear to imagine it!!!

The two exchanged a glance. At that moment, silence spoke louder than words. Neither said anything, but both understood exactly what the other wanted to say.

Naruto: We absolutely cannot fight in front of her!

Sasuke: Right! Absolutely not... Wait, she's my sister!

A spark crackled between Naruto and Sasuke as their eyes met, but it immediately vanished. Arguing over that could wait. Their most pressing concern was dealing with Chinatsu!

The two gave slight nods. When they turned back toward Chinatsu, they looked as though they had put on smiling masks, grinning foolishly.

"Sis, I don't think we really need combat practice at our current stage. We haven't even mastered the basics yet. Don't you agree, Naruto?"

As soon as Sasuke finished, he turned toward Naruto. Naruto froze briefly at his words before hurriedly chiming in, "Right! Right! Sasuke's right. I haven't even learned to walk on water yet. Combat practice is still way beyond me."

As he spoke, Naruto ran toward the nearby pond and fell into the water with a splash, emerging soaked to the skin.

Sasuke: You've got my thumbs-up!

Naruto: Even I'm scared of how far I'll go when I get serious!

Naruto really was going all out. In fact, through his tireless efforts while Chinatsu was away on her mission, he had already learned to concentrate chakra in his soles and stand on the surface of the water.

Originally, Naruto had planned to show Chinatsu that technique at just the right moment, striking an incredibly cool pose. Now... he was all smiles on the outside, but inwardly, he was utterly mortified.

"Really? Well, if you haven't mastered the basics yet, I suppose there's nothing for it~" Chinatsu said casually, though she was actually holding back laughter.

Keep pretending. Go on.

These two weren't very old, but their acting wasn't bad. Unfortunately, they were still too green. Who was standing in front of them? A renowned titan of the anime fandom, an ace cosplayer who had made the rounds at countless conventions. Did her acting skills really need any further emphasis?

Of course, the main reason was still that Chinatsu had personally seen the two little guys fighting...

Chinatsu still couldn't quite suppress the smile tugging at her lips, so she raised a hand to cover her mouth. Naruto and Sasuke thought they had weathered the storm and involuntarily sighed in relief.

Who could have known that, a moment later, Chinatsu would lower her hand and all the gentleness would vanish from her face, leaving only sternness, sternness, and more goddamn sternness!

"You still haven't mastered the basics, and you're proud of that? According to the training plans I made for you, you should have mastered them ages ago. So... you've been slacking off~"

Smiling, Chinatsu raised both clenched fists, radiating an aura frightening enough to make children bawl.

Naruto and Sasuke trembled all over. They had never imagined that, after jumping out of one pit, they would land in an even deeper one they had dug themselves.

She... really did find out, didn't she?!

Sasuke had a feeling that Chinatsu had seen what they had done at the Ninja Academy and was simply toying with them now.

If this had been his sister in the past, Sasuke would never have believed she could do something so "diabolical." But his sister now... it was entirely possible!

The two little guys stood trembling as they stared at Chinatsu, as though a demon had appeared before them and was slowly devouring them...

Early the next morning.

Drenched in sweat, Naruto and Sasuke limped out of the Uchiha Residence and headed toward school. Only the two of them and Chinatsu knew what had happened the previous night. There would never be a fourth person. Even asking Naruto and Sasuke would accomplish nothing, because there was no way they would reveal that shameful episode.

Sasuke: Sis... is too scary... I can't lie to her again...

After Sasuke and Naruto returned to the Ninja Academy, Iruka walked into the classroom, saw the state they were in, and inwardly rejoiced.

Iruka: Looks like these two little guys don't have the energy to cause trouble today! Hands-on combat training... let's do this!

Only a day had passed, and Iruka felt confident again!

Until, a little over ten minutes later, he saw Naruto and Sasuke once again going into "one-man army" mode and mowing everyone down. Iruka lowered his head and silently reflected on his life...

Meanwhile, Chinatsu, as a member of the Anbu, received a new mission.

"They want me to investigate Kumogakure?"

Chinatsu stared at the contents of the mission slip delivered by carrier pigeon, feeling a little stunned.

That made sense. In the original storyline, one person from Kumogakure had died, and a scapegoat from Konoha had died too. Neither side had suffered a major loss.

But thanks to Chinatsu's interference, Konoha had forced Kumogakure into an unequal treaty. Konoha had profited handsomely, while Kumogakure had lost terribly.

Given Kumogakure's hotheaded nature, they definitely wouldn't let the matter end so easily. They were very likely to take further action to retaliate against Konoha, so Chinatsu could understand sending Anbu there to keep watch. But there was one problem...

Chinatsu: Why am I going alone?!!!

Chinatsu's face was covered in question marks, but there was nothing she could do. She was still under someone else's authority, after all. Her most pressing priority was to improve her strength. She hadn't even reached Kage Level yet, and she really didn't feel secure.

"I have to leave again. Sasuke and Naruto will definitely be unhappy when they come home and see my note." Chinatsu gave a couple of bitter chuckles, wrote down that she would be away, and left the note on the table.

She changed into a tight-fitting black outfit and left the Uchiha Residence, leaving the forehead protector that marked her as a ninja at home.

The Anbu didn't need to wear forehead protectors. Compared with ninja, they were more like assassins.

Chinatsu took a deep breath and lightly patted her cheeks with both hands, physically forcing herself to perk up.

"All right, Kumogakure, here I come!"