Dealing with Jiraiya and dealing with Tsunade were two entirely different things.
In front of Tsunade, he could act spoiled and show weakness without restraint, because he knew her love was unguarded and pure. Even if he said or did something wrong, she would simply dismiss it as a child's innocent indiscretion.
But Jiraiya was different.
Senju Chen could clearly sense that this legendary member of the Sannin remained wary of him. Beneath the expectations born of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy lay the deep-rooted suspicion peculiar to a ninja. If Jiraiya noticed even the slightest sign inconsistent with a "four-year-old child," everything he had painstakingly built could collapse in an instant.
The old fellow was like sticky taffy: impossible to shake off, yet someone he had to handle with utmost care.
That afternoon, Jiraiya came again. Gesticulating wildly, he boasted to Tsunade about the "harrowing" experiences he had encountered while "gathering material" outside the women's baths, spittle flying everywhere.
"You have no idea, Tsunade! The security there was absolutely airtight! I had to stake my honor as a ninja... ahem, just to gather a little inspiration..."
Veins bulged on Tsunade's forehead, and the fingers holding her teacup cracked audibly. She was clearly on the verge of exploding.
Senju Chen, who had been hiding behind the door and eavesdropping, decided the time had come.
He strolled out of his room, his little bare feet touching the cold floor, then scurried over to Tsunade like a startled kitten and hugged her arm.
Then he tilted up his innocent, exquisitely sculpted little face, blinked his big, watery eyes, and asked clearly in a babyish voice so soft and sweet it practically dripped:
"Uncle Jiraiya, do you like my big sister?"
That single question plunged the noisy living room into dead silence.
Jiraiya's boastful expression froze on his face.
The fist Tsunade had been about to swing also stopped in midair.
Seemingly oblivious to the awkwardness frozen in the air, Senju Chen tilted his little head, tapped his lips with a finger, and continued in that same innocent tone:
"Uncle, last time I heard you say that if a boy keeps looking at a girl with a pervy look and always finds excuses to visit her house, that means he likes her."
Boom-!!!
That was not ninjutsu. It was the sound of Tsunade's reason snapping completely.
Her face flushed scarlet from her ears all the way down her neck in an instant. It was utter mortification and fury!
"Ji! Rai! Ya!"
Her furious roar shook dust loose from the roof.
Without even looking at Jiraiya, Tsunade swung a backhand punch and slammed it into the low solid-wood table beside her!
Crack-bang!
Made from fine materials with exquisite craftsmanship, the table did not even have time to groan beneath her monstrous strength before exploding into a shower of wood chips!
"You bastard! How dare you corrupt my little brother!!"
Jiraiya had already turned to stone on the spot.
Like a toad statue struck by lightning, he stood with his mouth half open and his eyes bulging. This sudden critical hit of "childish innocence" packed more power than any A-rank ninjutsu, striking precisely at the most vulnerable, most embarrassing weak point in his character.
His worldly old face visibly went from white to red, then from red to a dark purplish hue. He wanted to argue, but looking into Senju Chen's utterly innocent eyes, any defense seemed unbearably sleazy. He wanted to lose his temper, but Tsunade's fists, blazing with fury and clenched so tightly they creaked, were pointed right at him.
"I... well... a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! I... I just remembered something urgent! I'll be going!"
Before Tsunade's devastating killing intent could lock onto him, Jiraiya burst into motion at a speed rivaling the Body Flicker Technique and scrambled out of the Senju residence. His fleeing figure made a ridiculously comical contrast to the swagger with which he had arrived.
Watching Jiraiya flee in panic, Senju Chen trembled in Tsunade's arms as though she had frightened him, but inwardly he could not stop laughing. Pervy Sage, you never imagined you'd have a day like this, did you?
He knew that logic and reason were wasted breath against a thick-skinned old hand like Jiraiya. Only the "innocence" he was least able to refute could keep him firmly in check.
This move was called fighting magic with magic.
The effect was immediate.
Sure enough, Jiraiya did not appear again over the next few days. Peace returned to the entire Senju residence.
Until a week later.
That day, Tsunade was in the courtyard, patiently teaching Senju Chen to identify various medicinal herbs. The sunshine was just right, and the breeze was gentle.
A familiar, slightly hesitant voice came from the front gate.
"Um... Tsunade, are you there?"
It was Jiraiya.
Tsunade raised a slender eyebrow, snorted coldly, and ignored him.
Senju Chen looked up as well, a curious expression appearing on his face. He actually dared to come back. That's just like you, Pervy Sage. My big sister really does have plenty of "charm."
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly and peeked halfway around the gate. Only when he saw that Tsunade had no intention of attacking him immediately did he muster the courage to enter. But this time, he was not alone.
A young man followed behind him.
He had short golden hair as dazzling as the sun, azure eyes clearer than the sky, and a warm, sunny smile that felt like a spring breeze. Dressed in a standard Konoha jonin vest, he stood tall with a clean-cut air, a stark contrast to the thoroughly sleazy Jiraiya beside him.
"Lady Tsunade, sorry to intrude." The blond young man bowed slightly, his manners impeccable and his voice warm and resonant.
"Minato?" The frost on Tsunade's face thawed a little when she saw him. "Why did you come with him?"
"Sensei said he had something important about a mission to discuss with you, so I came along," Minato Namikaze, known as the "Yellow Flash," explained with a smile, deftly smoothing things over for his teacher.
Jiraiya chuckled. Clearly, this was a "shield" he had deliberately brought along to avoid another awkward situation.
What he did not know, however, was that this supposedly clever move had brought someone an enormous surprise.
Standing beside Tsunade's leg, Senju Chen looked up and quietly studied this legendary figure.
Minato Namikaze.
The future Fourth Hokage, Jiraiya's proudest student, and...
Kushina Uzumaki's lover.
An almost imperceptible gleam flashed through Senju Chen's eyes. He had been struggling with how to approach Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, in a reasonable way without arousing suspicion.
Now, the answer had delivered itself to his doorstep.
As he watched the blond young man with the gentle smile and sunny air, a perfect plan was already beginning to take shape in his mind.
The bridge to Kushina Uzumaki has arrived.