The atmosphere at the Ninja Academy had grown somewhat delicate because of Hatake Sakumo's death.
The confrontation on the training ground had been like a stone thrown into a pond, its ripples still unsettled. The name Senju Chen no longer meant merely "Lady Tsunade's little brother." He himself had become the center of a small vortex.
Especially to the little girls beginning to discover their first romantic feelings, that thin little figure who had dared to stand before everyone and cry out the word "hero" in his young voice practically seemed to glow.
"Good morning, Chen!" A girl with a high ponytail and a hint of wild vitality in her eyes bounded over like a little leopard. She held up a freshly bought skewer of tricolor dango drenched in sweet, sticky sauce as though presenting a treasure. "Here, this is for you!"
Mitaraishi Anko.
Senju Chen looked at her face, still childish but already showing traces of the spirited features she would have in the future, and at her undisguised enthusiasm. He offered a perfectly measured, slightly bashful smile. "Thank you, Anko."
Inwardly, though, he was wondering whether Orochimaru's future personal disciple was already this... fierce.
"Chen..." Another soft voice sounded beside him.
A girl with long black hair and unusual red eyes stood to one side, looking somewhat uneasy. She clutched the hem of her clothes, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
Kurenai Yuhi.
She was not as bold as Anko. She merely set a small bundle of candy wrapped in a handkerchief gently on Senju Chen's desk, then hurried back to her seat like a startled fawn.
Watching this, Senju Chen outwardly looked overwhelmed and at a loss at the unexpected attention, but inwardly...
Hehehe.
This was the future genjutsu master, a Konoha jonin, Asuma's wife... but right now, she was just a shy little girl who blushed easily. How interesting. He enjoyed being the center of attention, enjoyed the advantages his "child prodigy" persona brought him. It made it easier for him to approach these future powerhouses and wind invisible threads around them, one by one.
But wherever there were admirers in this world, there were bound to be people consumed by jealousy.
In the corner, Uchiha Inabi's gaze was fixed on Senju Chen like a poisoned nail.
What he despised most were people like this, who relied on their family backgrounds and pretty faces to court attention. That bastard Kakashi Hatake was one of them, and now this orphan of the Senju Clan was even worse!
Why? Just because his surname was Senju? Just because his sister was Tsunade?
A fire of jealousy and resentment blazed in his chest.
The bell rang for class. A bespectacled Chunin teacher who looked somewhat rigid entered the classroom and began explaining the shinobi rules.
"...Article nine of the shinobi rules: under all circumstances, missions must take precedence over personal feelings..."
The teacher read straight from the book, while most of the children below were drowsy.
Just then, Uchiha Inabi abruptly stood up, his voice especially jarring in the quiet classroom.
"Teacher! I have a question!"
Everyone's eyes immediately turned toward him.
The Chunin teacher adjusted his glasses and looked with some displeasure at the Uchiha Clan brat who had interrupted his lesson. "Go ahead."
Uchiha Inabi swept a provocative glance over Senju Chen, then asked loudly, "Teacher, I want to know-as a shinobi, which matters more, the village's mission or the lives of your comrades?!"
Boom!
The question exploded in the classroom like a bomb.
Every child's drowsiness vanished. Wide-eyed, they looked at the teacher at the front, then at the openly provocative Uchiha Inabi. Finally, without exception, their gazes settled on Senju Chen, who sat quietly in his seat.
Everyone knew whom that question was aimed at.
A fine sheen of cold sweat instantly broke out on the Chunin teacher's forehead.
He was just an ordinary schoolteacher. How could he dare get involved in a clash between titans like this? Hatake Sakumo's affair had caused an uproar throughout the village, and the higher-ups still had not given a clear statement. If he said the mission mattered more, he would be slapping Princess Tsunade in the face and repudiating those who had spoken up for Hatake Sakumo. If he said comrades mattered more, would that not openly reject the village's longstanding ironclad rule and indirectly criticize the higher-ups who believed Hatake Sakumo had been wrong?
This was a question that could get him killed!
He opened his mouth, his throat dry, but could not get a word out for a long time. In the end, he could only adjust his glasses and speak in a tone that feigned profundity but was actually utterly lacking in confidence.
"This is a question... that every shinobi must consider and confront along their own path as a shinobi. There is no standard answer in the books. The true answer is something you must... seek through your own experiences in the future."
Having said that, he seemed to exhaust all his strength. He immediately dismissed the class and fled the room.
Uchiha Inabi looked at Senju Chen with a smug sneer.
See? Even the teacher doesn't dare answer. All those things you said last time were nothing but childish make-believe nonsense!
Senju Chen, however, could not even be bothered to spare him a glance.
Seek an answer?
He sneered inwardly.
Only the weak needed to seek answers, because they could only passively accept the choices given to them. The strong were always the ones who made the rules and gave the answers.
After school, Senju Chen did not go to the Hatake residence as he usually did.
Carrying the gifts Tsunade had specially prepared for him, he made his way along a familiar route to the other end of the village and knocked on the door of a house.
"Coming, coming!"
The door slid open with a rattle, revealing a dazzling head of long red hair and a lively, smiling face.
"It's Little Chen! Come on in!"
Kushina Uzumaki pulled Senju Chen inside and, without giving him a say, proceeded to knead his cheeks. Her enthusiasm was like a blazing fire.
The house was filled with the aroma of food. A young man with equally dazzling golden hair and a smile as gentle as warm winter sunshine was busy in the kitchen, wearing an apron.
Minato Namikaze.
"Big Brother Minato," Senju Chen greeted him sweetly.
"You're here, Little Chen." Minato Namikaze turned around, his blue eyes filled with warmth. "Kushina's been talking about you for days. I got back from my mission today, so it's a perfect chance for us to have a meal together."
The atmosphere at the dinner table was warm and harmonious. Kushina kept putting food on Senju Chen's plate while scolding Minato for getting her favorite clothes dirty again on this mission. Minato smiled with helpless affection, occasionally wiping grains of rice from the corner of her mouth.
Senju Chen ate quietly, but inwardly, he was observing them coolly.
So these were the future Fourth Hokage and his wife? One as passionate as fire, the other as gentle as water. They really were a perfect match. Minato Namikaze, hailed as a "once-in-an-age genius," the most perfect inheritor of the Will of Fire... what would he think of that question?