Naruto: Awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, and Unify the Ninja World

Uchiha Shin, after traveling tirelessly day and night, finally arrived in Konoha not long after Tsunade and her team had returned from their mission.

Using the influence of the Uchiha name, Shin easily gained passage through the village gates, bringing Uzumaki Kanako along without issue. Without wasting any time, he made his way to the Hokage's office.

At that moment, the Third Hokage was in the middle of greeting Tsunade and Uzumaki Kushina.

"Damn old man, hurry up and register Kushina already! I need to get some rest!" Tsunade snapped, her tone sharp and impatient.

Unlike before, she wasn't bothering to hide her hostility toward Hiruzen Sarutobi. Knowing what her master had done, she felt nothing but contempt for the aging Hokage.

If not for their past master-disciple relationship, she wouldn't even have wasted her breath speaking to him.

Hiruzen, sensing her unusual hostility, wisely chose not to argue. He knew Tsunade well enough—trying to explain himself would be pointless. He simply needed to wait for her anger to settle before attempting to smooth things over with his usual diplomacy.

With the Second Shinobi War on the verge of breaking out, he couldn't afford to let a figure as influential as Tsunade slip through his fingers. If she walked away, the remaining Senju might follow, and despite the clan's diminished numbers, their heritage still carried weight. Even a dying lion was more dangerous than most beasts.

Turning his attention away from Tsunade, the Hokage smiled kindly at the nervous young girl beside her.

"So, you must be Kushina. I'm the Third Hokage, but you can call me 'Grandpa Third.' I'll arrange your registration and accommodations immediately."

Before he could say more, Tsunade cut in coldly. "She's staying with the Senju. My grandmother will be overseeing her training. You don't need to trouble yourself."

Without another word, she took Kushina's hand and led her away, not even sparing the Hokage another glance.

Tsunade had no intention of letting Kushina be influenced by Hiruzen's usual smooth-talking ways.

Watching them leave, the Hokage's expression darkened.

"Tsunade's grudge won't fade anytime soon… and now more Senju are returning to the village." His grip on his pipe tightened in irritation. "What the hell is Danzo even doing? He can't handle something this simple?"

He took a deep drag to ease his nerves, but before he could exhale, the office doors suddenly slammed open with a loud bang.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Hiruzen nearly choked, barely managing to keep his seat.

His initial thought was that Tsunade had stormed back in, but when he looked up, he saw a different familiar face—Uchiha Shin, standing there with a wide grin, and beside him, a red-haired girl who looked nervous yet determined.

"Yo! Old man!" Shin greeted with shameless enthusiasm.

"Uchiha Shin?" Hiruzen's eyes flicked toward Kanako. "And this girl… another Uzumaki?"

The striking red hair was unmistakable.

Shin didn't hesitate, repeating the explanation he had carefully prepared. "Didn't you issue that 'Uzumaki Rescue Mission'? I tried to join up with Tsunade's squad, but by the time I arrived, Uzushio had already fallen. I found Kanako near the battlefield and decided to bring her back."

He flashed a grin. "Since I technically completed the mission, how much are you paying me, old man?"

"..."

Hiruzen stared at him blankly.

He had suspected Shin's sudden interest in this mission had some hidden Uchiha agenda behind it. But now, it seemed more likely that Shin had simply taken the mission for easy money.

This little bastard probably wandered the borders a few times, stumbled upon Kanako by pure chance, and somehow lucked into completing the task.

Hiruzen wanted to call him out on abusing his Uchiha privilege to accept an S-rank mission far beyond his official clearance, but in the end, he let it slide. Uchiha Shin was still his student, after all, and Hiruzen had always been generous to those in his inner circle.

Besides, with war looming on the horizon, the village needed the Uchiha more than ever. Now was not the time to provoke them.

When Shin casually mentioned taking Kanako under his care, Hiruzen's gaze flicked between them.

He wasn't blind—he could see the way the girl looked at Shin, practically glued to his side. There was no doubt she had already imprinted on him.

Hiruzen sighed internally.

You sly brat… you went on a mission and brought back a future wife?

Shaking his head in resignation, he approved the arrangement. If nothing else, it saved the village the trouble of assigning her a caretaker.

After handing Shin his reward and finalizing Kanako's registration, Hiruzen quickly dismissed them.

As soon as they left the building, they were immediately stopped.

"You little bastard! You actually went to Uzushio?" Tsunade's voice cut through the air as she stomped toward him, eyes narrowed in irritation. "How come I never saw you there?"

She looked ready to grab his ear and give him a thorough scolding, but after a second of hesitation, she refrained. She knew from experience that Shin had a habit of turning things around on her when she got physical.

The last time she tried to hit him, he had somehow maneuvered it into looking like she was flirting with him.

Annoyingly, she could never predict what shameless stunt he'd pull next.

Instead, she folded her arms and frowned. "You do realize how dangerous that was, don't you?"

To her surprise, Shin didn't joke back immediately. Instead, he simply smiled.

"Come on, Tsunade. You're my teacher, aren't you? Did you really think I wouldn't follow you?"

Something in his tone made her pause.

She knew he was messing with her again, but… there was sincerity beneath it. He had genuinely been worried about her.

Tsunade found herself momentarily speechless. In this village, there were few people who truly cared about her. It was… unexpected, hearing that from Shin.

Of course, she wasn't about to let him off that easily.

She quickly changed the subject. "Then tell me—where exactly were you during the battle? The enemy suffered massive internal strife. Was that your doing?"

Shin merely smirked, neither confirming nor denying.

At the same time, he subtly raised a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture—directed toward Kushina, who was standing behind Tsunade.

Unfortunately for him, Kushina caught the motion and immediately narrowed her big, bright eyes at him in suspicion.

Shin had the sinking realization that keeping his actions a secret from her might not be as easy as he thought.

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Bonus Chapter - 100 Power Stones ✅

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