Ever since Hatake Sakumo had personally stepped in to instruct him, Senju Chen had become a regular visitor to the Hatake residence.
Life seemed to have taken on a new, vibrant rhythm. Every weekend, Senju Chen first completed the basic training Tsunade had tailored for him in his own yard, then brought Might Guy along and arrived punctually at the Hatake Clan's door.
Kakashi had gone from initial resistance to tacit acceptance, and now he occasionally waited at the door ahead of time. When he saw Senju Chen and Guy, his perpetually dead-fish eyes no longer seemed quite so cold. Instead, there was a hint of... familiarity.
The change was subtle, but it did not escape Senju Chen's eyes.
He knew the iceberg was melting. Might Guy, that inextinguishable flame, and he himself, the seemingly harmless "catalyst," were gradually prying open Kakashi's tsundere heart.
Sometimes, Sakumo watched the three children spar in the yard with interest. He no longer stepped in readily, simply sitting beneath the eaves like an ordinary elder, a gentle smile on his face. But Senju Chen could feel those calm eyes resting on him most of the time.
It was an appraising gaze that held appreciation, curiosity, and a trace of scrutiny that even he found pressuring.
Senju Chen welcomed it gladly. He displayed his "talent" to the fullest, sometimes imitating Kakashi's swordplay, sometimes clumsily learning Guy's Taijutsu, vividly portraying a super genius who was "curious about everything and could apply what he learned to new situations."
He wanted Hatake Sakumo to grow accustomed to his "exceptional nature," and to the novelty it brought.
Those peaceful, fulfilling days lasted nearly a month. Then, one day, a scroll bearing the Hokage's seal shattered that tranquility.
After training that day, a masked Anbu appeared silently at the Hatake residence and handed Hatake Sakumo a mission scroll.
Senju Chen and Guy were just about to take their leave and happened to witness it.
Sakumo unrolled the scroll. After just one glance, the gentle smile on his face instantly vanished, and a blade-sharp gleam flashed through his calm eyes. The air throughout the yard seemed to freeze at that moment.
An S-rank classified mission? Alarm bells rang in Senju Chen's mind, but his face displayed a child's curiosity and awe at just the right moment. "Uncle Sakumo, you're amazing!"
Might Guy was even more fired up. "Just what you'd expect from a legendary hero! This is the youth of protecting the village!"
Hatake Sakumo put the scroll away, and his oppressive presence disappeared with it. He became that gentle father again. Ruffling Kakashi's hair, he spoke as softly as ever. "I need to leave for a while. Kakashi, practice hard, and remember to get along with Chen-kun and Guy-kun."
"...Yes, Father." Kakashi lowered his head, his voice very quiet.
Watching the scene before him, Senju Chen's heart tightened too.
It's here.
That damned mission that would decide the fate of Konoha's White Fang had finally come.
After Hatake Sakumo left, Kakashi became quieter than ever.
He no longer waited at the door and was distracted during training, often staring blankly at the spot where his father usually sat. Senju Chen could feel an emotion called "unease" winding around the young genius like a vine.
Senju Chen said little. He simply dragged Guy along to visit more frequently, forcibly occupying Kakashi's time and thoughts with all kinds of absurd topics and challenges.
The days passed one by one.
Then, half a month later, Hatake Sakumo returned.
He returned at dusk. There was no welcoming ceremony for a triumphant hero. He did not even alert anyone, simply coming home without a sound.
When Senju Chen visited the next day with Kakashi's favorite grilled fish, the sight of Sakumo sliding open the door made his heart sink.
The man before him still wore the same gray house kimono, and his figure was still upright. But something about him... had disappeared.
The sharpness sheathed within his gentleness, the calm that had settled after weathering storms-both were gone. In their place were deep, inescapable exhaustion and self-doubt. His eyes were dull, like gems covered in dust, stripped of all their luster.
"Ah, Chen-kun, you're here." He forced a smile uglier than tears, then turned and went inside after opening the door.
From that day on, Hatake Sakumo shut himself inside his room.
In the village, rumors also began to spread silently, like moss growing in a gutter.
Senju Chen began deliberately visiting places where ninja gathered. Whether dumpling shops or barbecue restaurants, he used buying things for Tsunade as an excuse, pricking up his ears to catch the vicious messages drifting through the air.
"Have you heard? Lord White Fang's mission... failed."
"Failed? That's not even the half of it! Apparently, to save two subordinates who were dragging him down, he abandoned crucial intelligence he'd already secured-intelligence that concerned national strategy!"
"Tsk, how foolish! A ninja's mission comes before everything. Are comrades' lives more important than the village's safety? Once ninja step onto the battlefield, they should be prepared to die!"
"He's no longer the decisive, ruthless White Fang he once was. Those so-called 'feelings' have dulled his blade."
Those words were like poisoned needles, spat from the mouths of jealous or hidebound ninja, weaving an invisible net that seemed intent on strangling the former hero to death.
Senju Chen paid expressionlessly, then turned and left with his tricolor dumplings.
He kept his head lowered, his long bangs concealing the look in his eyes.
It was time to act.
When he returned home, Tsunade and Jiraiya were drinking in the living room.
Jiraiya was as flippant as ever, swigging his drink while animatedly boasting about his experiences gathering material away from home, earning occasional disdainful eye rolls from Tsunade.
The atmosphere inside was warm and peaceful.
Senju Chen changed his shoes, placed the dumplings on the table, then sidled up to Tsunade like a kitten and hugged her arm.
"Sis." His voice was small, carrying a hint of hurt and confusion.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Little Chen?" Tsunade put down her cup and affectionately ruffled his hair. She could never resist her little brother when he acted like this.
Jiraiya stopped boasting too and looked over curiously.
Senju Chen raised his head, his clear black-and-white eyes brimming with innocent bewilderment. Looking at Tsunade, he asked softly in the most naive tone:
"Sis, when I was out today... I heard some ninja uncles say that a ninja who abandons a mission to save comrades is a disgrace to the village, and trash..."
He paused, as though struggling to understand those complicated words. Then the confusion in his eyes deepened.
"But... didn't you teach me that comrades are family, and that they're more important than our own lives?"
"Sis, who's actually right?"
Boom-!
Those words were like a red-hot iron spike, driven savagely into the bloody, never-healing wound in the deepest part of Tsunade's heart.
Nawaki's radiant smile before he left.
Dan Katō's gentle gaze when he handed her the necklace.
Their faces flashed through Tsunade's mind, then shattered into a wash of blood.
Comrades were trash?
Acting for comrades was a disgrace?
Crack!
Tsunade crushed the cup in her hand. Liquor mixed with blood and dripped through her fingers onto the tatami.
Terrifying chakra erupted from her!
The air throughout the room instantly grew thick and oppressive.
"Who... said... that?!"
Tsunade shot to her feet. She did not look at the wound on her hand. Her golden eyes burned with unprecedented fury that threatened to incinerate everything.
"I'd like to ask them myself! Are their comrades' lives really worth nothing in their eyes?!"
The smile had long since vanished from Jiraiya's face. Looking grave, he pressed a hand to Tsunade's shoulder. "Tsunade! Calm down!"
"Calm down?!" Tsunade flung his hand away, her voice hoarse and shrill. "How do you expect me to calm down?! My little brother! My lover! They both died for the village, for their comrades! Now someone is telling me their convictions were trash?! I'm telling you, Jiraiya, if anyone dares say that in front of me today, I'll tear their bones out one by one!"
He stood beside the enraged Tsunade, looking up with just the right amount of "fear" and "helplessness" on his face.
I'm sorry, Sis, Senju Chen thought guiltily.
But putting out the wildfire of rumors required an even fiercer storm.
And the fury of Princess Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, was the perfect trigger for that storm.