The morning sunlight filtered through the wildly overgrown branches and leaves in the Senju residence's courtyard, casting small, warm patches of light beneath the veranda. The air no longer smelled only of stale dust; mingled with it was a hint of... burnt rice.
"Ah-! It burned again!"
Tsunade's exasperated cry came from the kitchen, followed by a clattering of pots and pans.
Holding a cup of hot tea Shizune had just brewed, Lin Chen carefully made his way to the kitchen doorway on his short little legs. There stood one of the legendary Sannin, glaring furiously at a blackened iron pot. Smears of soot marked her pretty face, and her long golden hair was a mess. She looked just like a cat with its fur standing on end.
"Big sis, have some tea." Lin Chen offered her the cup, gazing up at Tsunade with his large, clear, innocent eyes.
At the sight of him, all of Tsunade's irritation vanished. She accepted the cup with some embarrassment, drained it in one gulp, then crouched down and brushed his little nose with a soot-free finger. Her voice was full of helpless affection. "Sigh, even making you breakfast is this hard. I really don't have a talent for it."
"I like anything you make, big sis." Lin Chen's answer was flawless, sweet enough to make anyone's teeth ache.
Tsunade's heart melted at once. She was just about to gather him up for a squeeze when a figure appeared in the courtyard without warning.
The newcomer wore an Anbu uniform and a white porcelain mask. Kneeling on one knee, he spoke in a flat, even voice. "Lady Tsunade, Lord Hokage requests your presence. Please proceed to the Hokage's Office immediately with Chen."
Here it comes.
Lin Chen's heart remained as still as water, but just the right trace of fear appeared on his face. His little hand instinctively clutched the hem of Tsunade's clothes.
Tsunade's expression darkened instantly, and the warmth in the air vanished. She shielded Lin Chen behind her, her amber eyes fixed coldly on the Anbu. "Understood. You may leave."
"Yes." The Anbu vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"Chen, don't be afraid." Tsunade picked Lin Chen up and rubbed her chin against his forehead. Her voice softened again. "Big sis is here. No one will bully you. We're going to see that old man and settle your identity once and for all."
Lin Chen nodded obediently and took the hand Tsunade offered him, but deep inside, his mind was perfectly clear.
He knew this would be anything but a simple meeting. It was a banquet at Hongmen, a tribunal, and, more importantly, the decisive battle that would determine whether he could go from "someone under protection" to a "legal citizen" on Konoha's soil.
Now that his identity as a member of the Senju Clan had been revealed to Konoha High Command.
Shimura Danzō, that venomous snake lurking in Konoha's deepest shadows, surely could not wait any longer.
The Hokage's Office.
The atmosphere was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the head of the room, tapping his signature pipe against the desk with dull little knocks. On either side of him sat Konoha's two elder advisers-Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. Both were expressionless, their gazes sharp, like two stone statues inspecting a sacrificial offering.
The news of a child born outside the Senju Clan had also shaken them deeply.
At present, the Senju Clan had only its little princess, Tsunade, left, but that name alone was enough to keep the other hidden villages from acting rashly. After all, the First Hokage, the founder of this hidden village, was the man known as the "God of Shinobi."
The First and the Second had beaten the entire Shinobi World into submission, and in the recently concluded Second World War, this little princess and her companions had been named the "Sannin" by Hanzo of the Salamander, the "Demigod." All of this was ample proof of the Senju Clan's talent and strength.
That made the child Tsunade had brought back this time, allegedly a member of the Senju Clan, someone everyone had to take seriously.
Except for certain elders and senior officials.
The most unsettling among them was Shimura Danzō, standing in the shadows to one side.
He was still wrapped in bandages, with only one emotionless eye exposed. He was like a block of ice that would never melt, radiating a heart-chilling coldness.
When Tsunade entered the office carrying Lin Chen, four gazes landed on them at once. Those were not looks one should direct at a child. They scrutinized, assessed, and probed, carrying an undisguised sense of pressure.
Lin Chen immediately played his role to the fullest. His body shrank back, and he burrowed into Tsunade's arms, leaving only his large, sharply contrasting black-and-white eyes exposed as he surveyed everything in terror.
The actors are all here. Time for the show to begin. Lin Chen sneered inwardly. He could feel Tsunade's body tensing slightly with anger and could even hear her heartbeat speeding up.
Seeing that almost all of Konoha High Command was present, she asked, "Teacher Sarutobi, what is the meaning of this?"
Tsunade was the first to break the silence, her voice holding back her anger.
"Teacher Sarutobi, what is the meaning of this?"
"Tsunade, calm down." Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head, his gaze resting briefly on Lin Chen, his eyes complicated. "I asked you here today to formally confirm Chen's identity. This concerns the continuation of the Senju Clan as well as the village's regulations. We must proceed carefully."
"Carefully?" Tsunade gave a cold laugh and was about to erupt.
"Lord Hokage is right. Of course we must proceed carefully." A cold, dry voice cut in.
Shimura Danzō stepped out of the shadows, his lone eye locked on Lin Chen like a hawk's. "A child of unknown origins. Tsunade, you decided he was a member of the Senju Clan based on his word alone, even going so far as to confront Root in the street over him. That in itself raises plenty of questions."
He paused, his voice growing even more sinister. "The Shinobi World is in turmoil, and spies from every nation infiltrate wherever they can. Who can guarantee this child is not a 'weapon' sent by an enemy nation, disguised through special means? For Konoha's safety, I believe this child must be handed over to Root for the most thorough, most rigorous bloodline testing and ability assessment!"
"Bullshit!"
Boom!
Unable to contain her fury any longer, Tsunade slammed her palm onto the desk. Cracks instantly spread like a spiderweb through the sturdy solid-wood desktop, radiating from beneath her hand!
"Danzo! I'm warning you, take back those filthy ideas! Chen is my little brother, blood of the Senju Clan! If you want to touch him, you'll have to step over my corpse first!" Violent chakra erupted from her body, making the scrolls in the room rustle loudly.
The atmosphere in the office instantly turned explosive!
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura frowned deeply, clearly displeased with Tsunade's fiery temper.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression also turned extremely grim, and he was about to reprimand her.
But just then.
A small hand gently tugged, trembling slightly, at Tsunade's arm, where veins bulged with anger.
"Big sis..."
A young voice rang out, choked with tears yet striving to remain composed.
Everyone paused.
Tsunade's towering fury was forcibly suppressed, as though she had been injected with a powerful sedative. She lowered her head to find Lin Chen looking up at her with a pale little face. His large eyes brimmed with tears, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Lin Chen released Tsunade's arm. He stepped out from behind her. His tiny figure looked so frail in the spacious office, yet he straightened his back and turned toward Hiruzen Sarutobi at the head of the room.
"Please don't argue, Grandpa." His voice was quiet, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly. "I... I'm willing to take the test."
Tsunade shuddered violently and cried out, "Chen! No!"
Lin Chen turned back and gave Tsunade a smile that looked worse than crying, tears finally slipping down his cheeks. "Big sis, I don't want... I don't want to make things difficult for you. I..."
That composure, consideration, and sense of grievance far beyond his years struck everyone present like a heavy hammer to the heart.
As Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the child, the authority and scrutiny in his eyes unconsciously gave way to a trace of approval and pity.
Even the eternally icy faces of Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura showed a hint of emotion.
Even Shimura Danzō's lone eye flashed with astonishment. He had anticipated how Tsunade would throw a fit and how Sarutobi would try to smooth things over, but he had never expected this four-year-old child, whom he regarded as a pawn, to leap off the chessboard of his own accord and put him in check like this!
He had intended to use Tsunade's loss of composure to highlight his own "concern for the village." Yet now, Lin Chen's performance of retreating to advance instead made him look like an unscrupulous villain bullying the helpless.
Old dog, you want to use me to attack Tsunade and pressure the Hokage? You're not good enough yet. Lin Chen remained perfectly calm inside. Public opinion and sympathy are sometimes more useful than fists. Now the initiative is mine.
"Good, good boy." Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long breath, a trace of displeasure entering his gaze as he looked at Danzo. "Danzo, did you hear that? The child himself is willing to cooperate. There's no need for this so-called Root examination. We'll conduct the test right here, using the standard procedure."
The corner of Danzo's mouth twitched. In the end, he forced a single word from his throat. "...Yes." He knew he had already lost his best opportunity to take the child away.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded to the Anbu behind him.
Soon, a special sheet of paper used to test chakra nature was presented to Lin Chen.